Tigers thump Sylacauga for playoff win

November 9, 2012November 9, 2012 Jeremy D. Smith

Demopolis scored four second quarter touchdowns including two on defense on its way to a 49-20 first round win over Sylacauga (8-3) Friday night.

11-9-2012 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Roderick Davis runs in the open field during the Tigers’ first round playoff victory over the Sylacauga Aggies.

“It’s a playoff win. However it looked, however it felt, it’s a win and we’ll be playing next week,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said. “Our coaches and players were better prepared this week, overcame two consecutive losses and got a win here in the first round.”

Demopolis took only eight snaps in the game’s second quarter, cashing two of them in for touchdowns to complement a pair of defensive scores from outside linebacker Tyrelle Barnett.

Roderick Davis opened the scoring with 9:50 to go in the frame when he found the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown run. Just over a minute later, Barnett scooped a fumble that was forced by Tyler Merriweather and returned it 45 yards for a score.

11-9-2012 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Tyler Merriweather closes in on Sylacauga’s Hunter Johns (16) during the Tigers’ first round playoff victory over the Aggies. Merriweather would cause a fumble that Tyrelle Barnett (2) would return for a touchd

After Sylacauga missed a 37-yard field goal attempt, the Tigers covered 80 yards in five plays on a drive that featured a 35-yard pass to Cortez Lewis and ended with a one-yard run by quarterback Tucker Jones.

Barnett got in on the act again with 1:21 to go in the half when he picked off a pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

“Anytime you get a non-offensive touchdown, it’s big. You get two like that, it’s unreal and it happened to be the same guy,” Causey said of the boost the team received from Barnett’s defensive scores.

Sylacauga got on the board with 6:01 to go in the third when Ian Floyd scored on a two-yard touchdown plunge, a play that culminated a nine-play, 47-yard drive.

Demopolis answered with a 77-yard drive of its own, hitting the big play on a 42-yard pass to Rodney Harper before Demetrius Kemp hauled in an eight-yard Jones pass for a score.

11-9-2012 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Rodney Harper (9) halus in a pass over Sylacauga’s Zachary Pearson (11) during the Tigers’ first round playoff victory over the Aggies.

Jones found the end zone again with 9:55 left in the game to stretch the lead to 42-7.

Sylacauga pulled the game closer with a 55-yard fumble return for a score by Devin O’Neal and an 89-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Johns to Brooks Jackson.

Demopolis polished off the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run from D.J. Howell with 1:22 left in the contest.

Davis led all rushers with 89 yards on 14 carries. Floyd led Sylacauga with 41 yards rushing on 12 totes.

Demopolis amassed 268 yards rushing on 41 attempts, coupling that effort with 115 yards through the air. Sylacauga managed 185 yards on the ground on 45 rushes.

Barnett finished the night with a fumble recover, an interception and a sack to go along with two touchdowns. Kessy Bell and Peyton Pearson each had eight tackles.

Demopolis (9-2) moves on to face Spanish Fort next week in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

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