And a great Homecoming it was, as the DeKalb Tigers elated a home crowd with a 42-0 drumming of Cannon County.
After both teams struggled on first possession, it didn’t take the Tigers long to pounce on an opportunity as Grayson Redmon recovered a Lion turnover and a Tyler Cantrell to Paxton Butler 20-yard TD pass started a DeKalb rally that didn’t stop until time ran out.
Andrew Fuson’s PAT was good for the 7-0 lead at 8:20 in the first quarter. Cannon County couldn’t counter as the Tigers went on to rule the roost winning 42-0 on Homecoming at VanHooser Field Friday night.
Defense was key in the Tigers’ game play as DeKalb practically took up residence in the Lions backfield all evening with great backfield tackles by Josh May, Hunter Fann, and every fan in the stands could hear the hit laid out by Brady Hughes that registered on the Richter scale.
After another successful drive saw the end of the first quarter and three first downs, Tigers QB Axel Aldino – in for starting QB Trey Cantrell who suffered an injury last week - connected with Braxton Linder for a 40-yard TD pass with 10:41 left in the half. Fuson made it 14-0 with a good PAT.
The Tiger D stayed aggressive all night, and contained the Lions who still were searching for a way to establish some offense. Cannon County was limited to one first down in the entire contest.
Another second-quarter drive by the Tigers, who got four first downs, ended with a pass from Aldino to Bradley Miller with 2:36 left in the half. It was 21-0 after Fuson’s successful PAT.
With just under a minute left to play in the half, the Lions were forced to punt and Jesse Smith got a hand on it, scooping up the loose ball and scoring yet another Tiger touchdown, to make the score 28-0 at the break.
Still struggling to make something happen on the field offensively, the Lions turned the ball over two more times and DeKalb capitalized on both.
Bradley Miller showed a great QB read, picking off a Cannon County pass which led to another score by the Tigers after Aldino found Riley Sexton with 7:53 left to play in the third. Fuson, who was perfect on the night, made it 35-0.
With the clock now on rundown, the Lions bobbled the return and Bradley Miller said “thank you very much” and plucked it out of the air and into the end zone for final score, making it 42-0 after Fuson’s PAT.
The Tigers (2-4) travel to Livingston Academy next week for a tough matchup. The Wildcats are 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in region play.