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Tigers clinch area crown, down Saints 49-34

Michael Clements , , , , , , , , ,

Thanks to some unusual circumstances, the Demopolis Tigers were able to secure the AHSAA Class 5A Region 3 title on their home field on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. Due to some maintenance issues, the Selma Saints have not played at their home stadium this season. Although the Tigers never trailed in the game, the Saints didn’t go marching back to Selma without a fight. The Tigers were finally able to put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter, following a interception by Jim Lawler at the Tigers’ 4-yard line and the ensuing 96-yard scoring drive, giving the Tigers the 49-34 region championship.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to defer. A Saints’ fumble gave the ball to the Tigers on the Selma 38-yard line. Hayes Atkins started his stellar outing when he notched his first touchdown of the night on an 11-yard run with 7:25 to go in the first quarter. Cole Wilson’s PAT gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead over the Saints.

The Saints wasted little time playing catch-up when they struck for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 5:52 to go in the first quarter. The 2-point try failed and the Tigers held a 7-6 lead.

10-23-2020 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Kelvin Rowser heads to the end zone during the TIgers’ area championship win over the Selma Saints.

Demopolis’ Kelvin Rowser was the next Tiger to put points on the board when he scampered in from 26-yards out on a 4th-and-3 run. Wilson’s PAT gave the Tigers a 14-6 lead with 11:17 to go in the second quarter.

After the Saints were forced to punt, the Tigers’ own punt gave the Saints possession at the Tiger 38. The next play was a 38-yard touchdown run by the Saints. A failed 2-point conversion left the Tigers with a 14-12 lead with 5:54 to go in the first half.

The ensuing Tiger drive ended with a lost fumble at the Saints’ 4-yard line. But the Tiger defense held strong and forced a punt. Tyler Drake hit Atkins for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds to go. An offside penalty on the Saints prompted the Tigers to go for a 2-point conversion. Atkins made the try good and the Tigers took a 22-12 lead into halftime.

10-23-2020 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Brody Osburn dives to make a tackle during the TIgers’ area championship win over the Selma Saints.

After winning the opening coin toss and electing to defer, the Tigers received the opening second half kick and marched down the field. Atkins added his second rushing touchdown with a 4-yard run at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter. The PAT failed and the Tigers held a 28-12 lead over the Saints.

Following a Saints punt, Atkins got his second 4-yard touchdown run of the night. Wilson’s PAT stretched the Tiger lead to 35-12 with 5:37 to go in the third quarter.

The Saints’ ensuing drive ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass at the 2:51 mark of the third quarter. A successful 2-point conversion closed the Tiger lead to 35-20.

After forcing the Tigers to punt on their next possession, the Saints struck quickly with an 81-yard scoring pass. Another successful 2-point conversion had the Saints within a touchdown at 35-28 with 11:45 to go in the fourth quarter.

10-23-2020 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Javien Blanks wraps up a ball carrier during the TIgers’ area championship win over the Selma Saints.

Peyton Stevenson got into the scoring column with a 25-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat at the 9:26 mark of the fourth quarter. Wilson’s PAT stretched the Tiger lead to 42-28.

But, the Saints weren’t ready to throw in the towel. With 8:32 to go in the game, a 24-yard touchdown pass closed the Tiger lead back to eight, at 42-34. Matthew Witherspoon got a sack on the attempted 2-point conversion.

The Saint’s defense stepped their game up and forced a short punt on the Tigers’ next possession. Lawler came up with a diving interception at the Tiger 4-yard line, to stop the Saints’ threat. The Tigers then put together a 96-yard scoring drive, capped by Atkins fifth touchdown of the night, a 9-yard run with 1:03 to go. Wilson’s PAT gave the Tigers their final margin of victory at 49-34.

10-23-2020 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Hayes Atkins cuts to the end zone for the final touchdown of the night during the TIgers’ area championship win over the Selma Saints.

The Tigers rolled up 499 yards of total offense on the night. 463 of those yards came on the ground, with Atkins getting 197 of those yards on 26 carries and tallying 4 touchdowns. Kelvin Rowser added 138 yards on 22 carries and collected one touchdown. Stevenson totaled 62 yards on four carries and had one touchdown. Lamarion Kelly had three carries for 45 yards. Price Smith added 12 yards on one carry. Craig Nichols, who spent much of the night in a walking boot, added four yards on three carries before leaving the game. Kevin McElroy was credited with three yards on one carry and Drake picked up two yards on one carry.

Drake completed seven passes for 36 yards, one of those being the touchdown to Atkins. Price Smith had one catch for 18 yards and Stevenson had one catch for nine yards. Atkins had one other catch, but ended the night with five yards total. Jaqualon Smith added a 4-yard catch and Camron Wright added a 3-yard catch.

“Super proud of our kids. We didn’t do everything right the second half, but I was really proud of how we faced the adversity. They made it a little close and our guys just bowed up and I thought our offensive line did a tremendous job,” said Demopolis head coach Brian Seymore.

“Our offensive line played tremendous tonight, probably the best they’ve played all year. I was proud of all of our guys. It’s a team effort. We’ll continue to move forward.”

The Tigers (9-0, 6-0) will travel to Tuscaloosa next week to take on 6A Hillcrest in the final game of the regular season.