Drenched Tigers fall to Chilton County, 14-13

Demopolis High School’s Tiger Stadium turned into a swamp on Friday night. After three hours of non-stop torrential rain and a couple tornado warning delays, the Demopolis Tigers found themselves in the third place slot of the AHSAA Class 5A Region 3 standings. The Tigers fell to the Chilton County Tigers by a score of 14-13.

On a night that was destined to see its fair share of fumbles (the teams combined for a total of 11 fumbles), the Tigers were the beneficiary of the first fumble of the night. After punting to Chilton County on their first possession, the Tigers recovered a fumble at the Chilton County 12-yard line. A couple plays later, C.J. Williams ran it in from the 12 at the 4:34 mark of the first quarter. Cole Wilson tacked on the PAT and the Tigers took a 7-0 lead.

After a short punt gave Chilton County the ball at the Tigers’ 40-yard line shortly into the second quarter, the visitors got an 11-yard touchdown run with 9:14 to go in the first half. The Tigers blocked the PAT try and held a 7-6 lead.

After a brief tornado warning delay, Chilton County scored on a 2-yard run with 4:50 to go in the half. Chilton County tacked on a 2-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead over the Tigers. The first half ended with Chilton County holding that lead.

It took the Tigers until the 9:56 mark of the fourth quarter to get back on the board. Williams tossed a 10-yard jump pass to Timothy Grayson for the score. A failed 2-point conversion attempt left the Tigers trailing Chilton County 14-13.

The Tigers got one last chance to take a lead after recovering a fumble on a fourth down conversion attempt by Chilton County with 1:18 to go. The Tigers were unable to move the ball and turned it over on downs. Chilton County then ran out the clock to secure the 14-13 win over the Tigers.

The Tigers offense outplayed their opponents, statistically. The Tigers outgained Chilton County 173 to 142 in total yards. Peyton Stevenson completed one of his seven passes for 5 yards. Williams had the touchdown on his only pass attempt of the night. Craig Nichols had 119 yards on 19 carries. Williams had 8 carries for 43 yards and Stevenson had 5 carries for 24 yards.

Leading the Tigers defensively, Alton Rowser was credited with 3 tackles and 7 assists. Avake Jones added 7 tackles and 2 assists and Gray Sharpe had 3 tackles and 6 assists. Matthew Witherspoon picked up 6 tackles and two assists. Laquinton Wright totaled 7 tackles, while Curtis Peagler added 3 tackles and 4 assists.

The Tigers (6-3, 4-2) will travel to Jackson next week to take on the Aggies.