It turned out to be a rough start for the DeKalb Middle School Saints football team last Thursday evening. It was the first game of the season, at home against a tough Overton County team, but opening game jitters and a sluggish start doomed the Saints from the get go.
The Saints deferred the opening kickoff, electing to give the Wildcats the ball first. Overton would return to their own 36, then the first play from scrimmage netted the Wildcats points. A running play would take it all the way to the end zone. A passing play for a two-point conversion fell incomplete, but only 23 seconds into the game, the Saints were down, 6-0.
The Saints would start their first possession from their own 28, but ball handling would pose a problem. A handoff to Juan Ortega ended with a loss of three yards, but another run by Ortega took it down to the DeKalb 45.
A bad snap then resulted in quarterback Jon Hendrix falling on the ball for a five-yard loss, then a fumbled handoff to Wyatt Carter was recovered by Blaine Atnip for a loss of two more. A keeper took the ball to midfield on the next play, but on a fourth down, another bad snap ended with Hendrix falling on the ball at the 50.
The Wildcats took over with good field position and soon took advantage. Overton faced bad snaps of their own, but a high snap was handled and a running play took them down to the 26. Another high snap ended with a sack back at the 32, but another high snap was juggled and ended with a completed pass down to the 10. The next play saw the Wildcats run it in for the touchdown. Another run was good for two, and with 3:13 left in the first, the Saints were down 14-0.
The Saints’ next possession looked promising. On the kickoff, Ortega would field the ball and run it all the way down to the Overton nine yard line. DeKalb was poised to get into the game. A keeper would net only a yard, then a handoff to Ortega took it down to the four. On third down, another run by Ortega would only gain one yard, setting up a fourth and goal. Hendrix kept the ball himself, but would be brought down at the three. The Wildcats took over on downs.
Overton would be held deep in their own territory as the second quarter began, and would be forced to punt after only pushing to their own eight yard line.
DeKalb was once again set up in good field position as they started their next drive from the Wildcat 46. A pass to Devin Fish netted only one yard, then a Hendrix keeper took the ball to the 42. On a third and six play, a pass intended for Fish was intercepted, and taken down to the DeKalb 27.
Once again, the Saints’ D-line stepped up, and the Wildcats were only able to move two yards. After a false start backed them up to the 30, a pass play fell incomplete and DeKalb took over on downs.
Each team would have a possession before the end of the half, but the score would remain, 14-0.
The Saints faced a couple of scares in the game, when QB was sidelined with what appeared to be a rolled ankle, and Juan Ortega collapsed on the sideline with an apparent concussion. Ortega was taken off the field by stretcher and transported to the hospital by DeKalb EMS. He was later reportedly flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center as a precaution, but was reportedly back in school the following day.
The Saints would start the second half with the ball at their own 33. A handoff to Wyatt Carter would gain three yards, but that’s where the drive would stall. A fumbled snap, a pass to Conner Hopkins for no gain, then an incomplete to Carter gave the ball back to the Wildcats.
Overton would waste no time. A running play looked to be stopped by the Saints’ defense, but a reverse took the ball all the way down for six points. A two-point attempt was no good, but the Wildcats commanded a 20-0 lead.
DeKalb just couldn’t gain any traction. Their next drive started at their own 27, and a run by Cole Bain gained no yards, then another gained just three. Another carry by Bain took the ball to the 34, then a keeper was good up to the 46. Another run by Bain lost a yard, then another set the Saints up at the 49. A keeper was stuffed, then a pass to Conner Hopkins was complete, but for no gain. The Wildcats again took over on downs.
Once again Overton looked to make DeKalb pay. A keeper took the ball down to the DeKalb 16, then a fumbled handoff looked to go the Saints’ way. The ball was picked up by the Saints, then fumbled again, only to be recovered by Overton.
As the fourth quarter began, a Wildcat run powered down to the DeKalb nine, then another run was good for six. A run for two points was good, and the Wildcats took a 28-0 lead.
That’s where the score would stay. Each team would have a possession, but the writing was on the wall. Overton took the victory, 28-0.
