



“It was a tale of two halves,” Saints Head Coach Justin Poteete said. “Unfortunately, we were just too inconsistent especially early, and just couldn’t quite overcome it”. It would be hard to explain the Saints’ game against Fentress County last Tuesday night much better.
By defeating Trousdale County the week before, the Saints were riding high earning a first round home game in postseason play for only the second time in school history, and the team was poised to play a rematch of the 2018 Championship Game versus the Fentress County Crush. Fentress County found scoring opportunities on both offense and defense in the first half, but the Saints were seemingly a different team coming out after the break, mounting a furious comeback on offense and pitching a shut out on defense. Ultimately, the Blue and Red simply ran out of time before the comeback could be completed, falling to the Crush, 22-18.
After Fentress County won the toss and deferred to the second half, the Saints turned the ball over on downs and the Crush took over at the DeKalb 48-yard line. Logan Panell, Blake Voiles and Tucker Reagan Tanner Tallent drove the ball on DeKalb before Panell broke free from 31 yards out to score the game’s first points. The conversion attempt was good and midway through the first quarter Fentress County led 8-0.
It would not take long for Middle to answer.
After getting the ball at his own 45-yard line, Saints quarterback Jordan Parker found wide receiver Drew Dakas for 55 yards and touchdown, on the Saints next play from scrimmage. The two-point conversion would fail, however, and the first quarter would end with the Saints down by 2, 8-6.
Fentress County would find the endzone again on their next drive after Logan Panell would break free again, this time from 31 yards out, to score the Crush’s second touchdown of the game. This time their two-point conversion would fail and Fentress County increased their lead to 14-6.
Middle would be forced to punt, and Fentress County would turn the ball over on downs on their next possession before disaster would strike the Saints on the following possession. After an incomplete pass, Jordan Parker was intercepted by Drew Wright and carried all the way in for a pick six. Fentress County’s conversion attempt was good, and the Crush took a 22-6 lead, and all of the momentum, into the intermission.
That momentum, though, would quickly change when the second half started.
Fentress County received the second half kick and used their potent running attack to drive the ball deep into DMS territory. However, Axel Aranda stripped the ball from Fentress County’s Blake Voiles and raced 85 yards for a Saints touchdown, eating away at the Crush lead. The two-point attempt would again fail, but the Saints pulled within 10, making the score 22-12 with 3:00 left in the third quarter.
DeKalb would force Fentress County to turn the ball over on downs on the Crush’s next possession before Parker would again find Dakas for a 19-yard strike and another Saints touchdown. The conversion attempt would fail, but Middle had made the game a one score affair, 22-18 with 3:15 left in the contest.
The Blue and Red defense would again shine, forcing another Fentress County turnover on downs, to give the ball back to the Saints at their own 39-yard line with just under two minutes left in the game.
Parker would be sacked but found Aranda for a 40-yard strike on the next play to put the Saints in business, just inside the Fentress County 25-yard line. With, time ticking down, the Saints would drive all the way to the 8-yard line. However, with no timeouts left the Saints were forced to pass and they could not find the endzone, losing a heartbreaker, 22-18.
“If we had played with the same intensity in the first half, as we did in the second half, we win that game,” Coach Poteete said. “I will tell you though, I was really proud of how our players responded after we got down. They never gave up and came back out and made this a ball game”.
With the loss, the Saints fell into the consolation bracket of the playoffs and hosted Trousdale County Yellow Jackets in a rematch last Saturday at home.
In that game, Trousdale scored twice in the first quarter of the game, taking a 14-0 lead, but the Saints would get going before the end of the half, cutting the lead, 14-6.
The Saints got the ball to start off the second half, and drove downfield for a touchdown. With the two-point conversion, the game was tied, 14-14. That was where the score would stay through regulation.
In overtime, the Saints got the ball first and Parker connected with Aranda to take it down to the one-yard line. A keeper by Parker on the next play was good for six, then Aranda took the ball in for the two-point conversion.
The Yellow Jackets would get a chance to tie the game on their possession, and drove all the way down to the DeKalb four-yard line. There, on a fourth down play, the Saints' D-line stood tough and stuffed the run for no gain. The Saints held on for the 22-14 overtime victory.
The Saints face off with Stone Memorial next Thursday evening for their final game of the season.