Tiger soccer bows out of playoffs

The Demopolis soccer team’s season came to a screeching halt Tuesday evening as Moody banged in three second-half goals to down the Tigers 4-1 in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

“We made a few mistakes, but we should have been able to overcome that,” DHS coach Keith Jackson told his team following the loss. “They deserved it. They shut down what was our one weapon. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”

The Tigers trailed 1-0 early before Jeremy Chu delivered a helper to Austin Brooks to knot the contest at 1-1.

Moody shifted tactics in the second half, leaving most of its players back on defense and relying on well-placed passing to ignite offensive opportunities. The strategy worked to perfection as the visiting squad cashed in on three chances to put the Tigers away.

“We had our chances,” Jackson said. “We just didn’t capitalize on it.”

Despite the loss, the 10-11-1 campaign still stands as a milestone season for the Tigers as they hosted a playoff game for the first time in program history.

“In order to keep the soccer program going, in order to make it better, we’ve got to get in the mindset that it is a year round sport,” Jackson told his players. “I’m proud of how the season went. I expected us to do a little better than we did. But we can build on that.”