The DeKalb County Junior Tigers fell to the Smith County Owls in a 19-0 game in the semi-final round of the Middle Tennessee Youth Football Conference playoffs in Livingston Saturday.

The DeKalb defense was hot for the first half of the contest, but the Smith County effort held as well, leaving the score at 0-0 at half time. The Owls offense began to find ways around the Tigers in the second half, however, crossing the goal line three times in the second half.

The game began on a promising note for the Tigers when Defensive Tackle Luke Midgett recovered a fumble on the first play. Big runs by Konner Young and Conner Close brought the ball to the Owls’ eight yard line, but the Smith County defensive line shut DeKalb down, forcing a turnover on downs. That is as close as the Tigers would get to the end zone for the rest of the game.

Quarterback Briz Trapp was 2 for 13, passing for 27 yards on the day. Young led the Tigers rushing effort running the ball 10 times and gaining 50 yards, while Close gained 38 yards on the ground, carrying the ball four times.

Mason Winter caught a pass for 17 yards, while Close pulled in a 10-yard toss.

Close led the Tiger defense with five tackles, while Stetson Agee and Konner Young logged four tackles each. Gabe Hollingsworth, Alex Lemons, Trey Crabtree, Luke Midgett, Kaleb Spears, Mason Winter and Ryan Thompson added a tackle each to the Tigers’ defensive effort.

Though the loss prevents the Tigers from defending their conference title, DeKalb will face Fentress County at 11:30 a.m. in Livingston Saturday to decide third place.