Tigers shutout Jaguars for 13-0 win

In their second week of hosting a higher classification opponent, the Demopolis Tigers came out on top by way of a shutout win over the Northridge Jaguars. The Tigers would get the only points they needed to win on a 50-yard fumble return by Mac Logan and would add another score by Shatarius Williams. The Tigers missed the second PAT and the defense held the visitors scoreless for the 13-0 win.

The visiting Jags won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Tigers first possession was a 3-and-out. The Tigers forced and recovered a Jags fumble and drove to the 2-yard line. However, the Jaguar defense would stop the Tigers on a fourth down attempt and Northridge took possession on the 2-yard line. The Tigers forced a Jaguar punt, then returned the favor by punting back to the Tigers. The first quarter ended scoreless.

The teams continued trading punts in the second quarter until junior linebacker Mac Logan scooped up a Jaguar fumble on the 50-yard line and raced to the end zone. Dustin Bedwell’s successful PAT gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 4:15 to go in the first half.

On the Jaguars ensuing possession, the Tiger defense stood strong and forced the Jaguars to punt. Peyton Stevenson hit C.J. Williams on a 43-yard pass to get the Tigers in the red zone with 50 seconds to go in the half. Stevenson would then hit Shatarius Williams in the end zone with 25 seconds to go. The PAT was unsuccessful and the Tigers took a 13-0 lead into halftime after the Jaguars took a knee on their ensuing possession to run out the clock.

A fumble, more punts and a failed fourth down conversion were the highlights of the third quarter. The lowlight of the third quarter was Logan going down with 4:59 to play in the quarter. It was later learned that Logan had suffered a fracture to his lower right leg.

The Tigers would threaten to score in the fourth quarter when they got to the Jags’ 5-yard line. However, the Tigers would lose a fumble and the Jags took over at their own 15-yard line. Matthew Witherspoon would drop the Northridge quarterback at the 5-yard line for a sack. The Jags would punt and the Tigers would return the favor with a punt of their own. Aaron Collier then picked off a Jaguar pass and the Tigers would be able to run out the clock for the 13-0 win.

“I’m super proud of our kids. There are a lot of areas that will still have to shore up some things. But the effort is there and they are playing extremely hard for four quarters,” head coach Brian Seymore said after the game. Tiger Nation’s Mike Randall noted the conditioning of the team. ” It goes back to our summer workouts. We pushed them and the end result is to be able to be more physical in the fourth quarter. And I think the first two games have proved that.”

“I don’t know that you ever expect to see a zero. You want that, and you prepare for that. That’s just a compliment to our young men on defense,” said defensive coordinator James Moody when asked about the shutout. “We need to work on good tackling, and playing down-and-distance football. We need to work on not allowing big runs,” Moody said regarding getting his defense to play even better than they have so far in the early stages of the season.

Offensively, Craig Nichols had 96 yards on 29 carries for the Tigers. Stevenson connected on 10 passes for 87 yards with one touchdown. C.J. Williams caught four passes for 63 yards and Shatarius Williams had a 9-yard touchdown reception. Defensively, Witherspoon led the Tigers with six tackles. C.J. Williams, Hayes Atkins and Detron Essex added four tackles each. Logan had three tackles and added a touchdown on a fumble recovery.

Demopolis (2-0) travels to Bibb County to take on the Choctaws next week.