Tigers heat up in fourth quarter to take down Wildcats, 14-8

After lightning sabotaged the first Friday night under the lights at Tiger Stadium, the Demopolis High School Tigers football team played under the sun at Tiger Stadium on Saturday. The Tigers weathered a scoreless first half, then scored 14 points in the final seven minutes of the game to take a 14-8 win over the visiting Tuscaloosa County High Wildcats.

The Tigers received the opening kickoff, after the Wildcats won th etoss and deferred. After a 3-and-out, the Wildcats moved into position for a field goal try. A fumbled snap allowed the Tigers’ C.J. Williams time to get in to block the attempt.

The Tigers lost a fumble on the ensuing possession and the Wildcats were successful on their second field goal try. The Wildcats took the lead at 3-0 with 1:57 to go in the first quarter.

After coming up short on a 4th & 1 conversion attempt, the Tigers forced a Wildcat punt, which was downed at the Tigers’ 7-yard line. The Tigers then lost an errant snap out of the back of the end zone with 8:29 to go in the second quarter. The safety pushed the Wildcat lead to 5-0.

The ensuing free kick pinned the Wildcats at their own 13-yard line after a penalty was assessed on the return. The Wildcats and Tigers would trade possessions, with the Tigers ending up with the ball on their own 9-yard line with 2:14 to go in the first half. However, another fumble would allow the ‘Cats to add another field goal with 39.1 seconds to go in the half, which would put the Tigers down 8-0 at halftime.

The third quarter featured its fair share of punts and fumbles and the score remained unchanged, with the Wildcats still leading the Tigers 8-0. With a little less than half of the fourth quarter gone, a shanked Wildcat punt put the Tigers in good field position and a little excitement started brewing on the home side of the field. After getting down to the 15-yard line, Peyton Stevenson hit Timothy Grayson in the right corner of the east end zone at Tiger Stadium for the Tigers’ first score of the day. The Tigers attempted a 2-point conversion pass that was picked off by the Wildcats, leaving the Tigers down 8-6 at the 6:03 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats lost a fumble on their ensuing possession, and the Tigers were back in business with a little under six minutes on the clock. Craig Nichols promptly took a hand-off and outran everyone to the end zone for a 57-yard score. Grayson would complete a successful 2-point conversion to put the Tigers on top, for the first time, at 14-8 with 5:47 to go in the game.

The Tigers defense recovered a Wildcat fumble on their ensuing possession. However, the Tigers couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt. The Wildcat receiver then fumbled the punt, which was recovered by the Tigers with 34.4 seconds to go. The Tigers ran out the clock and sealed the 14-8 win over the Wildcats.

“I just told the kids we were going to get some breaks in the second half. Our guys kept fighting and we made just enough plays right there in the stretch. And I’m just super proud of them,” head coach Brian Seymore said after the game. “We had some reserves step up on a hot day. It was a total team effort, from the coaches to the players. This is why you work so hard in the off-season and the summer.” Seymore said that one of the main things that would get attention next week was ball security. “I think they played extremely hard in the second half and showed some grit.”

The Tigers (1-0) will take on Northridge next week at Tiger Stadium in Demopolis.