Tigers come alive in second half for 23-7 win over Bulldogs

After a dismal first half that led to a 7-0 deficit to the Marbury Bulldogs, the Demopolis Tigers came to life in the third quarter, scoring 16 points to take an uneasy lead at 16-7. However, the Tigers added a late fourth quarter score and the Tiger defense held steady for the Tigers to take a 23-7 win over the Bulldogs.

Playing through a scoreless first quarter, Marbury got on the scoreboard first on a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:43 to go in the second quarter. The successful PAT gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead over the Tigers.

Neither team was able to get into the end zone for the remainder of the half and the Tigers went into halftime trailing the Bulldogs 7-0.

The Tigers looked like a different team after receiving the opening kick of the second half. Jim Lawler’s return to near midfield set the tone for a quick drive that took a little more than one minute off the clock. Hayes Atkins capped the drive with a 10-yard run with 10:44 to go in the third quarter. Atkins also got the carry for the successful 2-point conversion that gave the Tigers the lead at 8-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, it appeared the angled kick was headed out of bounds. However, the ball took a turn toward the goal line and the nearest Bulldog kick returner slipped down, out of bounds, as he was attempting to cover the ball. With the ball inside the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line, a penalty and some pressure defense by the Tigers, the Bulldogs found themselves punting out of their own end zone. The Bulldog punter, who already had multiple long punts on the night, rushed the kick which went out of bounds at the Bulldog 25-yard line.

A few plays later, Atkins put his head down for a run, but pulled up and hit Price Smith in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Atkins then tacked on a 2-point conversion run which gave the Tigers a 16-7 lead with 6:02 to go in the third quarter.

Jay Jones picked off a Bulldog pass on the ensuing possession, but the Tigers lost a fumble on their possession. And, the third quarter ended with the Tigers holding a 9-point lead over the Bulldogs.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs punted to the Tigers and the ball rolled dead at the Tigers’ 9-yard line. With 2:41, timeout was called. After the timeout, Peyton Stevenson took the snap, broke a couple tackles, then outran everyone down the sideline to the end zone. The 73-yard run and Cole Wilson PAT gave the Tigers a 23-7 lead with 2:26 to go.

The Tiger defense held the Bulldogs on their ensuing possession and forced a punt with 33 seconds to go. One drop to a knee from the victory formation expired the clock and secured the Tigers 23-7 win over the Bulldogs.

“I was happy the way we played the second half. We’ve just got to bring that intensity in the first half,” said Demopolis head coach Brian Seymore after the game. “These guys had a lot at stake. I thought we had a good week of preparation, but we just didn’t come out and set the tone like we should have. We turned the ball over, put the ball on the ground too much. You just can’t do that.”

“We’ve got a huge game next week against Selma. We’ll fix some adjustments. I’m super proud of our defense and the way they played aggressively. But, we’ve definitely got to come out and be more focused from the onset next week.”

The Tigers tallied only 287 yards of total offense on the night. However, they only allowed 84 total yards of offense.

Drew Seymore started his second game of the season and connected on six of eight passes for 69 yards. Atkins completed his only attempt for eight yards, which was a touchdown. Camron Wright led the receivers with 38 yards on one catch. Smith had four catches for 21 yards and one touchdown. Stevenson added two catches for 13 yards and Craig Nichols had two catches for 4 yards.

Stevenson totaled 76 rushing yards on the night, with one touchdown on the 73-yarder. Nichols added 53 yards on nine carries. Atkins totaled 38 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. Drew Seymore had two caries for 9 yards.

The Tigers (8-0, 5-0) will face what could be their toughest contest of the 2020 season, so far, next week** when they play Selma (6-2, 5-0) for the top spot in Class 5A Region 3.

**Please note that the Oct. 23 Selma game, originally scheduled to be played in Selma, will be played at Tiger Stadium in Demopolis.