The end of their season had already come and gone but the DeKalb Middle School Saints football team was on the field one last time, playing a post-season consolation game at home against the Algood Redskins. The Saints came ready to play and wanted to end the year on a positive note.

Algood would get the ball to start the game and would fall on the kickoff at their own 26. There, a run by Colby Walker lost four yards, then a fumbled snap ended with Taylor Fitts falling on the ball back at the 18. A Fitts keeper on the next play went to the 32, and facing a fourth down the Redskins gambled. A keeper was good to the 49 to keep the drive alive.

An Evan Banks run carried the ball to the DeKalb 47, but then a hold on the next play backed them up to their own 46. There, a pass to Gavin Lintz was good all the way to the DeKalb 26 and Algood looked like it was poised to score, but penalties killed the drive.

A false start backed the Redskins up five, then a keeper was only good for three. A Banks carry was stopped for a three-yard loss, then Fitts was sacked at the 31. Another keeper on a fourth down looked to be in for the touchdown, but a hold on the play negated the points. The Redskins went for it again and this time Fitts was run out of bounds back at the DeKalb 46, giving the Saints the ball.

The Saints didn’t take long to get on the board. After an off sides by Algood, a pass to Devin Fish was caught back at the 48, but a Jon Hendrix keeper took the ball down to the Algood 31 as the second quarter began.

Fish ran to the 22 on the next play, then Juan Ortega was handed the ball, and was in for six but DeKalb got caught with a hold. Back at the Algood 25, Hendrix connected with Fish again, who took it to the end zone. An Ortega carry for two was stuffed, but the Saints were on the board 6-0 with 6:21 left in the half.

Algood would soon have an answer and take the lead in the game. After the kickoff, the Redskins began at their own 22, and on the first play Algood was in business. A Jacob Poston carry was good all the way to the DeKalb 20. Next, a Banks run was good to the eight, then another was down at the five. Banks took the snap himself on the next play, reaching the three but a hold on the next play backed them up to the 17. A pass to Isaac Loghry was good to the eight, then a keeper by Fitts was in for the touchdown. A direct snap to Banks was good for two points and the Redskins took an 8-6 lead with 1:59 left in the half.

Fish ran the ball down to the DeKalb 44 on the kickoff, but a facemask penalty on Algood gave the Saints good field position at the Redskins’ 40. A pass to Conner Hopkins fell incomplete, then a high snap resulted in Hendrix falling on the ball back at the DeKalb 48. On a third and 18, a pass to Fish was good to the Redskin 33, then a keeper was good for the first down at the 28. Another Hendrix keep got four more yards, but with 30 seconds on the clock what looked like a desperation play killed the drive. A pass was intercepted by Loghry at the 22. The half would end with Algood in the lead.

As the second half began the Saints would quickly take back the lead. A return by Fish took the ball all the way down to the Algood 40, then a carry by Ortega busted through to the 20. Ortega was handed the ball again, powering his way through the line for the touchdown. A Hendrix run was good for two points and the Saints were up 14-8 with 7:03 left in the third.

A fair catch gave the Redskins the ball at their own 29, and once again a run by the big guy, Banks, was good to the DeKalb 44. Another Banks run went to the 37, then a Isaac Alvarez run was good to the 34. There the drive would stall.

A holding call backed Algood back to the 42, then a run by Walker was caught back at the 45. Fitts was sacked for a one-yard loss, then a pass to Lintz resulted in another one-yard loss. On a fourth and forever play, a Fitts pass was swatted down giving the Saints the ball.

Again the Saints would push their way down for points. An Ortega run was good to the Algood 49, but a hold on the next play backed them up. On a second and 12 from their own 42, a Wyatt Carter run took the ball to the Algood 44. A keeper was run out of bounds at the 32 on the next play, then a Carter carry took the ball to the 27 as the fourth quarter began.

Ortega ran to the 22 on the next play, then a Hendrix keep was down at the six. Carter pounded down to the three on the next play, then was stuffed back at the five. On a third and goal, Hendrix called his own number, running it in for the touchdown. A keeper for the two-point attempt was stopped but DeKalb took a 20-8 lead, with 5:28 left to play.

On the kickoff the ball went out of bounds, setting the Redskins up at their own 41. An off sides penalty gave them five more, then a pass to Poston was good to the DeKalb 38. There, a Banks run was good to the 21, then a pass to Lintz fell incomplete. It was then that an Algood fumble resulted in the Saints’ Bryson Arnold falling on the ball at the DeKalb 25. With 3:39 left in the game, it was all but over.

After a few first down plays, the Saints simply formed the victory formation and ran the clock out. The Saints took the 20-8 win on their last game of the year.