Demopolis forces five turnovers in rout of 6A Benjamin Russell
Demopolis set the tone on the game’s opening kickoff and showed little letup Friday night as it pounded Class 6A Benjamin Russell 30-10.
C.J. Williams caught the ball at his own 7 on the game’s first play and showed off electric speed as he wove in and out of traffic for an 81-yard kick return to the Benjamin Russell 12. Williams continued to make his mark from there, going on to intercept two passes on the night.
“I just think he is a total playmaker. He’s got great ball skills. He’s got good top end speed, so if he gets into the open field he has got some breakaway speed,” Demopolis coach Brian Seymore said of Williams, who now has five interceptions on the season after intercepting five in 2017. “He can make those big plays and decisive plays defensively. He can lock the best receiver down and that’s what he did tonight. We felt like that was a good matchup for us. He has continually gotten better since we’ve been here. I think he really takes pride in covering people’s best receiver and shutting them down.”
On the game’s first snap, Peyton Stevenon stuck the ball in the belly of tailback Antonio Besteder on a read option before pulling it and slicing right through the gut of the Wildcat defense for a 12-yard touchdown run.
Benjamin Russell staved off disaster moments later as Alexander Besteder picked off a pass at the Wildcat 26. Demopolis proved unable to punch it in, leaving Russell with a chance to establish itself. The Wildcats would go on to hang three on the board with a 34-yard field goal from Wilson Hays to cut it to 7-3.
Demopolis padded its lead late in the second quarter when Antonio Besteder scored from a yard out. Malaki Simpson later hit a 31-yard field goal to move the lead to 16-3.
“It starts with our coaches. We teach them we want to play a physical brand of football. We start with that and we have a chance to compete against anybody,” Seymore said. “It’s physical and sometimes maybe you do risk injury. But, in the second half, it starts taking a toll on people and it starts paying off in a big way.”
The Wildcats ran an 11-play drive to open the third quarter and came away emptyhanded as Tiger linebacker Joshua Mason intercepted a pass in the end zone to nullify the threat.
The Tigers tacked on two more scores in the fourth quarter as Antonio Besteder scored on a 19-yard run before Stevenson sprinted in from 41 yards out to move the advantage to 30-3.
The Wildcats made the game look a little more respectable when a 78-yard catch-and-run from Zay Stowes set up a Kee Young touchdown run from three yards out.
Antonio Besteder finished the night with 180 yards rushing on 22 carries.
“He needed that breakout game, especially against a team coming in here at 3-1, a 6A team. But the credit goes to the guys up front of course. But he gets in the open field and you’ve got to tackle him. He’s a punishing runner,” Seymore said. “He has the ability to break tackles and he has got some top end speed to make some homerun runs. I’m proud of him. I know what he is going to bring every day. He has been the same way ever since we’ve been here. We know what we’ve got with him. He’s a winner. Our line takes a lot of pride in blocking for him.”
Stevenson added 84 yards on nine rushes. Tyquan Alston paced the receiving corps with seven catches for 61 yards.
Demopolis (4-1, 2-0) is idle next week before hosting Shelby County Oct. 5.
“We’re going to pound the weight room. We’ll probably take Monday off and practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and take Friday off to go out and scout one of our opponents. Going back into region play four straight weeks and we’ve got to prepare,” Seymore explained. “It’s about working on yourself sometimes. Each region game, we should be the best team. I think our kids expect that. You’ve got to prepare each week. You’ve got to go out and play hard. Our kids have worked hard and I’m proud of them.”
