

Saints Claim First Victory of the Season
By Chris Tramel
The DeKalb Middle School Saints got into the win column last week after taking on the Gladeville Wildcats. The game had been scheduled for an away match against Fentress County, but because that team is in quarantine due to a Covid-19 outbreak, the game was changed to a home game against Gladeville.
The Saints would get the ball first, returning the kickoff to their own 41, but it looked like luck was going to be on the Wildcats' side. On the first snap of the drive, the ball went over quarterback Jordan Parker's head. DeKalb would recover the ball, but back at the 27 yard line. Next, Parker recovered from a low snap and Ty Webb ran to the 36. After that, a fumbled handoff to Axel Aranda was recovered by the Wildcats at the DeKalb 34.
The Wildcats wouldn't take long to make the Saints pay. On a fourth and two play, Chaz Martin was handed the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. The extra point kick went wide, but Gladeville was up, 6-0, with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
On DeKalb's next possession the team seemed to have worked out their butterflies, and were back to playing ball. On the kickoff, Webb returned to the Saints' 43. A second down handoff to Webb, moved them up to the 49, then a couple of keepers by Parker took the Saints into Wildcat territory at the 46. After a fumbled snap, then an offside penalty on the defense, DeKalb was set at the 45, where a long Parker pass was complete to Andrew Dakas in for the touchdown. A two-point conversion pass to Aranda was good, and the Saints took the 8-6 lead with 27 seconds left in the first quarter.
With a long kick on the kickoff, the Wildcats started their next possession at their own 20. Then, a fumbled Gladeville snap was recovered by DeKalb with 21 seconds left in the quarter.
Another Parker pass was good in the end zone, with only 6 seconds in the quarter. The two-point attempt failed, but just like that the Saints were up 14-6.
An onside kick looked to have gone the Saints' way, but an illegal touch penalty ended with the Wildcats getting the ball at the 50. A run by J.R. Arnold took the ball down to the Saints' 42, but then a run by Dylan Brown was stopped in the backfield, again at the 50. Brown was given the ball again and he was downed at the 37. On a third and six play, from the 33, the ball was handed to Arnold who ran it in for six. The extra point kick was good, and the Wildcats had cut the lead, 14-13 with 5:00 left in the half.
The Saints would get the ball at their own 30 on the next possession, but they wouldn't be able to move. They would end up punting from the 28, with the Wildcats returning to their own 46. The very next play, a Gladeville fumble gave DeKalb the ball back at the 46.
A run by Aranda took the Saints down to the 20, where a holding penalty pushed them back to the 34. On a second down, Parker connected with Dakas, who took it down to the four yard line. The next play, Parker handed off to Aranda, up the middle for the touchdown. A two-point pass attempt was incomplete, but the Saints extended their lead, 20-13, with 56 seconds left in the half.
As the second half opened, so did the skies. A steady rain began to fall, making the game soggy, wet, and sloppy. The Wildcats were to receive, but on the kickoff the Saints recovered the ball at the Gladeville 45. They wouldn't be able to cash in on the turnover though, bad snaps and penalties stalled the drive, and would have to punt on fourth down at the 49.
On the punt, a bad snap led to the kick being blocked, and the Wildcats recovered at the 28. Then, on a second and 10, a Wildcat pass was intercepted by Aranda to the 44. The DeKalb drive would again be plagued by penalties and miscues. After a block in the back, then a false start penalty, the Saints faced a fourth and nine. Going for it, Parker's pass was intercepted by Evan Harwell, at the 43.
The Wildcats faced the same troubles the Saints did. Plagued by fumbles and bad snaps, the Wildcats would only move to midfield. As the fourth quarter began, another bad snap and an incomplete pass, Gladeville faced a fourth and 14 and would punt.
The Saints started at their own 20, where an Aranda carry took them to the 41. Another handoff to Aranda put DeKalb down at the 18, where a keeper, then two more carries placed the Saints at the 10. On a fourth and two at the 10, a shuttle pass to Webb was good for six points. Another shuttle to Webb for the two point conversion was successful, and the Saints were up 28-13, with 3:09 on the clock.
With the clock ticking down, the Wildcats were in hurry up mode, and their next possession started at their own 46. A pass to Cameron Richardson, took the Wildcats to the Saints' 40, then an offside penalty by DeKalb gave them five more yards. A pass to Konner Adelsburger was good all the way down to the three yard line, and on the next play Richardson was handed the ball, up the middle for a touchdown. A two-point pass fell incomplete, but the Wildcats cut the lead, 28-19, with 1:44 left in the game.
It was too little, too late for Gladeville. An onside kick went out of bounds, and the Saints were able to run out the clock, securing the Saints first win of the season.
"That was a decent Gladeville team," Head Coach Justin Poteete told the Smithville Review. "They're a second-year school with some good sized kids on the team, but at DeKalb, we preach all the time, it doesn't matter if we line you up against the high school team, or Tennessee Tech, I should get the same 110 percent the whole time."
"It was a little sloppy, but up front looked ten times better than last game. We were getting off the ball, which was 90 percent of our issue last game. Defensively we're a little sloppy. Tackling was a little soft. I'd like to have eleven guys that can come up and stone anybody at anytime. We've got to work on that. We will, because Macon is going to be here next week and they are a tough team."
The Saints travel to Macon County next Thursday for their next game.