Tigers sink Vikings, 13-7, for 2020 Homecoming victory

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a victory on Homecoming and that’s always a good think. It was the lowest points total of the season, offensively and defensively, with all of the scoring coming in the first half. Holding a 13-7 lead at the half, the Tigers were able to thwart a couple Viking threats in the second half and hold on for the win.

After winning the toss and electing to defer, the Tigers got the first possession of the night. The Tigers took the ball and marched down the field quickly. Hayes Atkins punched it in from the 3-yard line with 8:46 to go in the first quarter. The PAT failed and the Tigers took a 6-0 lead with only 3:14 off the clock.

The Tigers’ final score of the night came on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Drake to Price Smith. Smith covered most of the yardage running free down the Tiger sideline before being pulled down in the end zone. Cole Wilson’s PAT was good and the Tigers claimed a 13-0 lead with 10:51 to go in the second quarter.

The Tiger defense forced a Viking punt on their ensuing possession, but the punt was fumbled and the Vikings recovered at the Tiger 25-yard line. The Viking would capitalize a few plays later on an 18-yard run. The PAT closed the Tiger lead to 13-7 with 7:48 to go in the first half.

The Tigers got within field goal range twice in the second half, but one attempt was wide left and the other was blocked by the Vikings.

The Vikings crossed into Tiger territory with 2:47 to go in the game, but a holding penalty backed them up across the 50. Javien Blanks got a sack on third down, to back the Vikings up farther and a quarterback scramble on fourth down came up short of a first down with 44 seconds to go in the game. The Tigers ran the clock out and secured the Homecoming win.

While not totally pleased with his team’s performance, head coach Brian Seymore acknowledged that Homecoming night wins are always good. “I feel like our offensive and defensive lines took control of the game and that we should have scored more than 13 points. We had some costly turnovers and some breakdowns in execution,” said Seymore after the game.

“We’ve got an open week (next week) and we’ll try to get some guys well. We’re still going to work hard and get a good week of practice in. (The next three) games are all region games and they are all big. Our guys understand that we have room for improvement, but I’m proud of our guys. We won homecoming. But, we’re going to go back to work on Monday.”

The stats for the night weren’t particularly impressive, but the Tigers did have 171 yards on the ground. With 86 yards through the air, the total offense for the night totaled 257 yards.

Atkins led the rushing category with 49 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. Kelvin Roswer had 10 carries for 43 yards and Craig Nichols had 36 yards on 10 carries. Drake totaled 6 carries for 16 yards, Peyton Stevenson had 24 yards on 2 carries and Price Smith had one carry for 3 yards.

Drake completed 7 of 16 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown. Price Smith led the receivers with 2 catches for 68 yards with one touchdown. Jaqualon Smith and Atkins caught one pass each, both went for 7 yards. Craig Nichols had 2 yards on 2 catches and Kelvin Rowser had one catch for 2 yards.

The Tigers (6-0, 3-0) have an open week next week. The next and last home game of the season will be Oct. 9 when the Tigers host region foe Jemison.