The first ever Middle Tennessee Youth Football Super Bowl game resulted in a win for the DeKalb County Peewee Tigers in a defensive battle against the Fentress County Bulldogs at York Institute in Jamestown Saturday.
The Tigers, 9-1 on the season and ranked ninth in the state when post-season play began, set out not only to win the championship, but to avenge their only loss of the season, a triple overtime heartbreaker to the Bulldogs in the season opener.
Fentress took the ball to begin the game, but soon found themselves in a fourth down and three situation. An offside penalty on the Tigers gave the Bulldogs five yards and a first down.
A fumble on the ensuing play was recovered by the Tigers’ Nick "Bam-Bam" Murphy, and DeKalb took possession of the ball on their own 47-yard line. The Tigers could not manage a first down, and went four and out, punting the ball.
The Bulldogs took possession on their own 20, but quickly turned the ball over on downs as well. The Tigers again regained the ball on their own 47-yard line.
A six-yard run from Quarterback Walter Bryant, a run for a one-yard loss by Ryan Lyons and a two yard run from Murphy brought DeKalb to fourth and five. The Tigers punted.
Fentress County again took the ball on their 20 as time ran out in the first quarter of play.
The Bulldogs had an 11-yard run called back for holding, and found themselves at first and 20 on the 10-yard line. The Tigers held the Fentress offense, who were forced to punt at fourth and 13.
DeKalb took the ball on the Fentress 46, and a four-yard run by Lyons put the Tigers on the 42. Lyons gained a yard on the next play, leaving DeKalb at third and five.
Bryant kept the ball for three yards, and the Tigers were at fourth and two. DeKalb went for it, and Bryant barely skinned by for the first Tiger first down of the game.
A fumble was recovered by DeKalb’s Carson Davis for a loss of three yards on the next play, however, putting DeKalb at second and thirteen on the Fentress 39. Murphy then broke loose with 2:27 on the clock in the first half and ran the ball in for touchdown. An incomplete pass from Bryant to Preston Taylor on the conversion left DeKalb up 6-0.
The Bulldogs took the ball on their own 40, where a fumble recovered by Fentress and a false start penalty put them at second and 11. An incomplete pass brought third and 11, and when J.T. Summers sacked the Bulldog Quarterback for a loss of six yards, Fentress punted on fourth and 17.
DeKalb took the ball on the Fentress 37. A face mask call on the Bulldogs was good for 15 yards and the Tigers’ second first down of the game. The clock ran out in the first half with DeKalb holding on to a 6-0 lead.
The second half began with the tigers taking possession of the ball. After a one-yard run by Murphy, a keeper from Bryant for two yards, and a Murphy run for no gain, the Tigers punted.
Fentress took the ball on their own 26, and immediately gained their second first down of the contest on an 11-yard run. The Bulldogs went for it on fourth and six, only to be called for a false start. Fentress punted, and DeKalb took the ball on their own 31-yard line as time ran out in the third quarter.
The Tigers still held on to a 6-0 advantage.
A seven-yard Murphy run on third and five gave DeKalb a first down, Bryant held onto the ball for three yards, Murphy ran for another yard, and J.T. Summers ran for a short gain. The Tigers punted, and Fentress County regained the ball on their own 20.
The Bulldogs broke a first down on an 18-yard run on third and ten, and then fumbled and recovered the ball on the line of scrimmage on the second down play. Fentress got off a successful 10-yard pass for a close first down, and then a run to the 32-yard line gained them another first down.
The Bulldog threat was shut down on the next play, however, when the DeKalb defense forced a fumble and the Tigers recovered the ball on the Fentress 30-yard line. A little more than a minute remained in the game.
The Tigers made no headway, and punted with 42 seconds left on the clock. The clock ran out with the Tigers still leading 6-0.
The Tigers were 9-1 in regular-season play in 2016, and won two post-season games.