Sports

Demopolis falls just short against Greenville

October 4, 2013October 4, 2013 Jeremy D. Smith AHSAA, Demopolis, demopolis high school, football, Greenville, prep sports, Tigers

Tyler Oates fires a pass toward the sideline.

Demopolis (4-2, 2-2) fell just short on a 44-yard field goal attempt with 30 seconds to play Friday night as it lost to Greenville (3-3, 3-1) 18-16.

“Anytime you lose a close ball game like this that was hard fought, it’s tough to take,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said. “We’ll get better from it. We’ll get better from this loss. We’ll go back to work. We’ll be better next week.”

The decisive play for Demopolis came in the form of a 44-yard field goal attempt with just over 30 seconds remaining on the game clock.

The Tigers were trailing 18-14 when nose tackle Hollis Bright shot the gap on a third down play and dropped the Greenville quarterback for a safety to cut the Demopolis deficit to 18-16 with 1:36 to play.

Demetrius Kemp runs behind a block from Ryan Schroeder.

Demopolis proceeded to return the ensuing punt to the Greenville 47 to give itself a shot at a go-ahead drive with 1:31 remaining. A quick 5-yard out to Tripp Perry and a pass interference call on a deep ball moved Demopolis to the GHS 27 before the drive stalled with three straight incomplete passes, setting up the 44-yard attempt.

After the teams played a scoreless third quarter, Greenville broke through in the fourth when it capitalized on a Demopolis miscue. DHS appeared poised to stretch its 14-12 lead when DeBryant Crenshaw pounced on a fumble to give Greenville possession at its own 39.

Eight plays later, a fourth down heave landed in the hands of Demopolis safety Demetrius Kemp for an apparent interception. However, a pass interference call gave Greenville the ball at the Demopolis 10 and allowed Jerome Watkins to bolt in for the go-ahead score, leaving GHS up 18-14.

Demopolis’ ensuing possession ended when Crenshaw intercepted a pass at his own three, setting up the Bright safety.

Roderick Davis cuts between two Greenville defenders.

Demopolis opened the scoring with a six-play drive on hits opening possession that covered 87 yards and ended with a 2-yard Roderick Davis run.

Greenville answered quickly with a 90-yard kickoff return by Michael Smith that set up a 3-yard scoring run by Alyric Posey. The point-after failed, leaving DHS up 7-6.

Greenville took the lead on its next possession when Watkins pushed it in from a yard out to cap a 71-yard drive that lasted 10 plays.

Demopolis answered with 33.1 left in the second when Davis scored from two yards out on a 40-yard drive setup by a Kemp interception. The point-after left Demopolis up 14-12 at half.