Tuesday, May 7, 2024

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Demopolis piles up 500 yards of offense, wins Region 3 crown

Jeremy D. Smith , , , , , , ,
10-26-18 — Demopolis’ AJ Besteder (6) breaks through the Chilton County defense en route to a 31-17 lashing Friday night. (WAW | Stewart Gwin)

CLANTON, Ala. – After an uneven start in which the ball bounced around inordinately and their opening drive ended on a lost fumble, Demopolis settled in for a 38-17 win over Chilton County Friday. The victory sealed the Class 5A, Region 3 championship for Demopolis which has now won 32 consecutive region games.

With a penchant for scoring on big plays all season long, the visiting Tigers turned to sustained drives and a reliable ground game to keep Chilton firmly at length. The first Demopolis scoring drive lasted nine plays and covered 71 yards, ending in a 6-yard touchdown run from Antonio Besteder.

After Chilton connected on a 31-yard field goal to cut into the Demoplis lead, the road Tigers strung together another nine-play drive. This time, Demopolis covered 70 yards and capped the march with a 4-yard Brandon Franklin run.

Besteder found the end zone for the second time with 2:28 left in the second quarter, punching it in from the 7 for a 21-3 lead to cap a 47-yard drive. Malaki Simpson added a 26-yard field goal just before half to move the advantage to 24-3.

Demopolis then turned its opening possession of the second half into its most majestic drive of the season. The squad went 73 yards on 15 plays and culminated the march with a 3-yard touchdown run from Besteder, his third score of the evening.

Franklin capped the scoring for Demopolis with a 72-yard touchdown sprint to move the lead to 38-10.

Chilton got a 6-yard touchdown run from Shi Keem Lasiter and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Lasiter to Cameron Wright.

Demopolis tallied 523 yards of total offense in the game including 290 on the ground. Besteder finished with 28 rushes for 167 yards. Franklin had 116 yards on eight rushes. Keyjun Gracie paced the receiving corps with 118 yards on four receptions.

Demopolis (8-1, 6-0) wraps its regular season next week when it hosts Jackson High School Friday night. The Tigers will host the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A state playoffs in two weeks.