Tigers drop region game at Saraland
SARALAND — Demopolis (2-1, 1-1) mustered a 3-0 lead early, lost it two minutes later and never caught up again on the way to a 24-10 loss at Saraland (3-0, 2-0) Friday night.
The Spartans wasted a 79-yard return on the opening kickoff when they missed a 27-yard field goal attempt. The teams would trade possessions before Demopolis started a drive at its own 14 and marched to the Saraland 15, setting up a 32-yard field goal by Leif Midgorden with 1:36 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Spartans then proceeded to cover 65 yards in seven plays, culminating the advance on a seven-yard touchdown run by Chris Weaver. Cody Everette added the extra point for the 7-3 lead.
“It’s a battle. Anytime you play a Demopolis, Tom Causey coached football team, you know you’re going to be in for a physical battle,” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly said. “From the first play to the last snap, it was a war.”
“Coach Kelly and them did a fantastic job. They out-coached us. They out-played us. That’s the reason why they whipped us so good tonight,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said.
The Spartans’ next score came after Skylar Mosley picked off a pass and returned it to the Tiger 13. Hunter Faircloth cashed in on the opportunity when he drilled a 32-yard field goal for the 10-3 lead.
Tanner Moore recovered a fumble for the Tigers at the Saraland 33 early in the third quarter. Three plays later, Brannan Schaffer blocked the Demopolis punt and Shawn Poston jumped on the loose ball.
“Our kids, every time we turned around kept overcoming adversity, kept making a play,” Kelly said. The exchange amounted to nothing as Saraland missed a field goal.
On its next possession, Saraland went 73 yards on five plays, finding the end zone when Jay Ward went over the top to Mitchell Sanders for a 48-yard touchdown pass and a 17-3 SHS lead.
Undaunted, Demopolis battled right back into the game when Tyler Oates found Demetrius Kemp for a 72-yard scoring pass that trimmed the lead to 17-10.
Saraland then embarked on a back-breaking 85-yard drive that took eight plays and ended when Ward hit Ronnie Reed for a 14-yard touchdown pass.
“We’ve got a mature football team. We’ve got a bunch of kids that have been in a lot of battles,” Kelly said. “They never questioned. They never batted an eye. They just went out and did what they do. That was a big drive.”
“It’s not a defensive or offensive thing, it’s a team thing. We didn’t do what we needed to do on both sides of the ball tonight when we had those opportunities,” Causey said. “We’re not playing real good anywhere right now. All I know is we’ve got a long way to go and we’ve got to get there in a hurry.”
The Tigers’ final opportunity came when an apparent Weaver touchdown run of 30 yards was ruled a fumble. Tyler Perkins scooped the ball and sprinted down the sideline for 79 yards to the Saraland 20. Demopolis pushed the ball all the way to the SHS 3 before the drive stalled.
“Instead of just giving up, our defense made that stop and it saved the football game,” Kelly said of the pivotal stop. “They had a tremendous challenge defending that spread option. They played with tremendous heart and the goal line stand there at the end saved the football game.”
While the Saraland defense limited Demopolis to just 38 yards on the ground, including -23 yards in the second half, Leander Burrowes answered the bell for 153 yards on 31 carries as the Spartans tallied 214 rushing yards on the night.
Demopolis passed for 192 yards in the contest with Cortez Lewis hauling in five passes for 84 yards. Rahmeel Cook led the defense with 11 total tackles while Hollis Bright finished with eight.
Demopolis is scheduled to travel to Selma next week.