Tigers trounce Panthers, 43-0
The Demopolis Tigers took another step toward securing second place in the AHSAA Class 5A Region 3 standings on Friday night. The Tigers struck early and often en route to a 36-0 halftime lead over the Jemison Panthers. Quite a number of reserves got some valuable playing time with the clock running in the second half and were able to tack on another score to give the Tigers a 43-0 win.
The Panthers won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. After C.J. Williams’ kickoff return to the Tiger 46, the Tigers’ offense only needed one play to get on the board. Peyton Stevenson hit a wide open Timothy Grayson who outran the Panther defenders to the end zone for a 54-yard score. Cole Wilson’s PAT was good and the Tigers took a 7-0 lead over the Panthers with 11:39 on the clock in the first quarter.
Seven minutes passed before the Tigers found the end zone again. After having four punt returns for touchdown called back due to penalties this season, C.J. Williams finally got to keep one when he crossed the goal line with 4:05 to go in the first quarter. Wilson’s PAT stretched the Tigers’ lead to 14-0.
The Tigers collected a safety at the 2:14 mark of the second quarter when a high snap made it inside the Panthers’ 5-yard line and the punter elected to kick it out of the back of the end zone. The safety pushed the Tigers’ lead to 16-0.
With 32 seconds to go in the first quarter, Grayson secured a Stevenson pass just across the goal line for the duo’s second scoring connection of the night. Wilson’s PAT gave the Tigers a 23-0 lead over the Panthers.
Craig Nichols picked up two touchdowns in the second quarter. The first was a 25-yard run that gave the Tigers a 29-0 lead at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter. The second was a 15-yard run at 2:09 mark. Wilson tacked on the PAT and the Tigers carried a 36-0 lead into halftime.
In light of the score, a decision was made to run the clock in the second half. Quite a few clean jerseys saw ample amounts of valuable playing time. Lamarion Kelly capped the touchdown scoring for the night when he dove in from the 1-yard line with 1:46 to play. Wilson’s PAT gave the Tigers their final points of the night and the 43-0 victory.
“We were pretty solid from start to finish. I was really pleased with our effort. We wanted to start early and start fast offensively. We had a couple big plays on special teams and got some things going,” said Demopolis head coach Brian Seymore. “The defense played pretty consistent all night long. That’s good for us. We had the opportunity to get some young guys in and get some playing time.”
The Tigers collected 378 yards of total offense, while holding the Panthers to just 80 yards. Offensively, Stevenson was 7-11 for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Drake connected on one of his two passes for 14 yards. Drew Seymore completed his only pass attempt for 21 yards. Nichols had 109 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Grayson had 3 catches for 84 yards with two touchdowns. Shatarius Williams had three catches for 79 yards. Ben Ogden had a 21-yard catch and run that set up Kelly’s touchdown run and Jordan Woods had a 14-yard catch. Stevenson added 49 yards on four carries, while Kyjuan Rhone tacked on 27 yards on nine carries. Kelly had 17 yards on six carries, which included one touchdown. Eric Norwood collected 19 yards on three carries and Anthony Cox added 6 yards on two carries.
Demopolis (6-2, 4-1) will host Chilton County next week at Tiger Stadium in Demopolis. Being the last regular season home game, next week will serve as senior night.