The DeKalb County Tigers are now 1-1 on the season after the Stone Memorial Panthers took a 34-7 win against DeKalb in Smithville Friday night.
While the Tigers could never get their passing game off the ground against a tight Panther defense, Stone Memorial stuck mostly to the ground, scoring five times running the ball.
Stone Memorial won the toss, and elected to receive the ball. They immediately drove 79 yards down the field in three minutes and twenty seconds to score on a two-yard run from Ethan Pierce. Tyler Breeding put a good extra point up, and the Panthers led 7-0 with 8:40 on the clock.
DeKalb took the ball into Panther territory on their first possession, but an interception soon put the ball back in Stone memorial’s hands.
The Panthers, seemingly running the ball at will, took the pigskin 80 yards before a one-yard touchdown run by Cody Wyllins increased the Stone Memorial lead to 13-0 with 4:21 left to play in the first quarter. Another good kick by Breeding brought the score to 14-0.
Another interception on the next series gave the Panthers the ball back on the Tiger 39, and DeKalb allowed Blake Hicks to score on a one-yard run for the Panthers with 11:26 left in the second period. Another extra point by Breeding gave Stone Memorial a 21-0 lead.
Tyler Bundy put the Tigers only touchdown of the night across when an 82-yard drive culminated in a 10-yard Bundy sprint across the goal line to cut the Panthers lead to 21-6. Matthew Poss added an extra point to bring the score to 21-7.
Wyllins crossed into the end zone again for the Panthers with 8:07 left in the third period. A missed extra point put Stone Memorial ahead 27-7.
The Tigers turned it over on downs on their next possession, giving the Panthers the ball back on their own 27. A 73-yard drive ending in another touchdown run by Hicks with two seconds left in the third quarter increased the Stone memorial lead to 33-7. A good EP by Breeding put the score at 34-7, where it remained at the end of the contest.
The Panthers put up nearly 450 yards total offense in the game, while the Tigers managed a little less than 250. Bundy rushed for 101 yards on 13 carries, while Jennings kept the ball eight times for 36 yards, and Colton Seifert got two yards on two carries.
Matthew Poss caught the ball three times for 30 yards, Riley Sexton pulled down two passes for 32 yards, Christian Pruitt caught three passes for 21 yards, Bradley Miller and Isaiah Jones caught one pass for nine yards each.
The Tigers, now 1-1, will face the visiting 0-2 York Dragons this Friday night in Smithville. DeKalb will then play three road games, at Cumberland County on Sept. 9, at Smith County on Sept. 16, and at Macon County on Sept. 23.
The Tigers will return home to host Sequatchie County on Sept. 30, and will travel to Grundy County on Oct. 7. DeKalb will play at home against the Upperman Bees on Oct. 21, and will travel to Cannon County on Oct. 28 to wrap up the regular season.
All games start at 7 p.m.