Tigers tame Wildcats, 48-20
In a highly anticipated region matchup with the Shelby County Wildcats, the Demopolis Tigers put points on the board in every quarter and piled up 461 yards of total offense en route to a 48-20 victory.
The Tigers won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. On the second play from scrimmage, the Wildcats picked off a middle screen attempt and took possession at the Tiger 23-yard line. However, the Tiger defense held and got a sack on a fourth down conversion attempt by the Wildcats.
The Tigers’ second possession ended much more favorably when Craig Nichols pulled in a Tyler Drake pass and scored the Tigers’ first touchdown of the night. The 34-yard scoring play and subsequent PAT by Cole Wilson gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter.
After a Wildcat punt, a Tiger pass was picked off by the Wildcats. The Tiger defense held the Wildcats on that possession and forced a Wildcat punt that rolled out on the Wildcat 43-yard line. On the first play of the possession, Nichols almost scored, but ended up at the Wildcat 2-yard line. Hayes Atkins notched his first touchdown run of the night on the next play. The successful PAT gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 11:20 to go in the second quarter.
The Wildcats were forced to punt on their ensuing possession, but got their third interception of the Tigers on the night. The Tigers defense held when Jay Jones stopped the Wildcats short on a fourth down conversion attempt.
Atkins got his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run with 2:54 to go in the second quarter. The PAT gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats picked up a touchdown on a 29-yard pass with :49 to go in the first half. The PAT pulled the Wildcats within two touchdowns, at 21-7. The half ended with that score.
The Wildcats made things a bit interesting when they received the opening kick of the second half and put together a drive that resulted in a touchdown with 7:13 to go in the third quarter. The Wildcats missed the PAT but closed the Tiger lead to 21-13.
The Tigers wasted little time getting that lead back. Kelvin Rowser picked up a 3-yard touchdown run with 5:44 to go in the third quarter. The PAT gave the Tigers a 28-13 lead over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats weren’t ready to fold, cashing in with a 12-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. After the PAT, the Tigers held a 28-20 lead with 11:55 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers’ ensuing possession ended with Atkins collecting his third touchdown run of the night. The 3-yard run and successful PAT gave the Tigers a 35-20 lead with 8:31 to go in the game.
After the Tiger defense held on another fourth down attempt by the Wildcats, Drake hit Jaqualon Smith on a swing pass that Smith took 35 yards to the end zone. Wilson’s PAT upped the Tigers’ lead to 42-20.
The final Tiger score of the night came after Atkins picked off a Wildcat pass and returned it deep into Wildcat territory. Drew Seymore scored on a 7-yard run with under 20 seconds to play. The referees elected to allow the clock to run and waved off the PAT, when the clock expired before the snap for the kick. The Seymore run gave the Tigers their final margin of victory at 48-20.
“I think our guys were resilient in the second half. It was going back and forth in the second half and our guys finally of took charge of the game. That’s something we’ve done all year,” said Demopolis head coach Brian Seymore.
“We’ve got to keep working – we’ve got to reduce these turnovers. But, I think we’re growing as a team and we’re making a lot of progress. We’re excited to play a bigger team next week (6A Jasper High School) and it’s another opportunity for us to get better.”
Nichols and Atkins led the offensive highlights on the night. Nichols gained 167 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Atkins added 21 yards on five carries, but three of those carries were for touchdowns. Kelvin Rowser had 2 carries for 12 yards and one touchdown. Drew Seymore’s touchdown came on his only carry of the night, a 7-yarder.
Drake “quietly” completed 11 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns while spreading the ball around to six receivers. Nichols caught two passes for 46 yards with one touchdown. Jaqualon Smith added a 35-yard touchdown on his only catch of the night. Price Smith (3-55), Kelvin Roswer (1-46), Peyton Stevenson (2-41) and Cameron Wright (2-18) also caught passes against the Wildcats.
The Tigers (5-0, 3-0) will host 6A Jasper (1-3, 0-2) next week for homecoming at Tiger Stadium.