Tigers fall to Patriots 48-7, playoffs up next
Sometimes you just run into a better team. The Demopolis Tigers ran into the 10th ranked team in AHSAA class 6A on senior night and the outcome was not a pleasant experience for the Tigers. The Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa) Patriots lit up the scoreboard for 34 points in the first half and departed Tiger Stadium with a 48-7 win.
The Tigers won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Patriots wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, capping their opening drive with a 38-yard touchdown run by Jamarian Scott with 10:43 to go in the first quarter. The successful PAT by Andrew Scott gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
The Patriots had a touchdown called back on a penalty on their second possession of the night and Kevin McElroy picked off a deflected pass to end the drive. Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to capitalize off the turnover and were forced to punt.
The Patriots second touchdown of the night came on a 21-yard Ethan Crawford run with 1:17 to go in the first quarter. The PAT upped the Patriots lead to 14-0.
The third Patriot touchdown of the night was a 22-yard Crawford to J’quon Sturdivant pass at the 5:15 mark of the second quarter. A successful PAT increased the Patriot lead to 21-0 over the Tigers.
The Patriots’ Colin Dunn intercepted a Tiger pass on the Tigers’ ensuing possession and returned it for a touchdown. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving Hillcrest with a 27-0 lead with 3:25 to go in the second quarter.
After the Tigers turned the ball over on downs at the Hillcrest 48, the Patriots added their final touchdown of the first half on a 1-yard Crawford quarterback sneak with 41 seconds remaining. The successful PAT resulted in a 34-0 halftime lead in favor of the Patriots.
The Tigers were forced to punt on their opening possession of the second half. The resulting Patriot drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown run for Crawford at the 5:16 mark of the third quarter. The PAT increased the Patriot lead to 41-0.
The Tigers finally got on the board with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter, when Drew Seymore connected with Cam’rom Wright in the end zone, for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Joseph Gantt tacked on the PAT, closing the score to 41-7 in favor of the Patriots.
The final score of the night was claimed by the Patriots at the 4:57 mark of the fourth quarter, on a 16-yard touchdown run by Chemar Moore. The successful PAT resulted in the final margin of victory for the Patriots, 48-7.
The Tigers ended the night with 200 yards of total offense, while allowing 420 to the Patriots. Seymore totaled 127 yards and one touchdown on 10 completions. Wright had one touchdown and 71 yards on five catches. Craig Nichols had 31 yards on one catch. Vincent Deas had three catches for 20 yards. Montgomery Freeman had on catch for five yards. On the ground, Nichols led the Tigers with 16 carries for 63 yards.
The AHSAA Class 5A region 3 champion Demopolis Tigers (6-4, 6-0) will host the Red Raiders of B.C. Rain (Mobile) in the first round of the playoffs this Friday night at Tiger Stadium.