The DeKalb County Saints woes continued last week as they faced the Macon County Tigers in their second game of the season.
The Tigers received the ball on the opening kick, taking possession on their own 44-yard line. It looked as if the Saints might hold them to a three-and-out, but with a fourth and six, the Saints were called with an off sides penalty. With a fourth and inches, Macon’s quarterback, Seth Carlisle, kept the ball, taking it to DeKalb’s 45. Two plays later, a pass to Noel Martinez had the Tigers in for a touchdown. With a run for a two-point conversion stopped, the Tigers were up, 6-0.
The Saints took the kickoff for their opening possession up to the Tigers’ 45, and from there QB Tyler Cantrell and the Saints running game pushed down the field. Runs by Paxton Butler and Jessie Smith took the team all the way down to the 19-yard line. There, the drive would stall after a fumbled snap was recovered by the Saints at the 25. A QB keeper would lose more yards as the buzzer ended the quarter.
As play began the second quarter, an off sides penalty pushed the Saints back even more, and faced with a fourth and 21, Cantrell was sacked at the 36-yard line.
Macon would strike fast. A three-yard run by the Tigers would end with big yards after the Saints were hit with a horse collar penalty. With a first and 10 at the Saints’ 46, Macon’s Devon Dillahay was in with a big run for a touchdown. A pass to Dillahay was good for two, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
The snowball kept rolling for the Saints with their next possession, taking the ball at their own 10-yard line. Cantrell was sacked at the four, and the following play Luke Bryant was tackled in the end zone for a safety with 6:16 left in the half.
DeKalb couldn’t get off their side of the field, and the kickoff following the safety had the Tigers threatening again. Macon took the ball from the Saints 27, and after facing a fourth and inches from the 17, Carlisle kept the ball to run in for a touchdown. A pass to Carson Browner gave the Tigers two more and Macon was up 24-0.
The Saints took the kick return to their own 36 with their next series, but the negative yards kept piling up. A toss to Butler lost three yards, a carry by Tyler Bundy had them at third and 12, and a bad snap put the Saints back with a fourth and 22, forcing them to punt.
It looked as if Macon would strike again, but a QB keeper in for a touchdown was called back after a Tigers’ block-in-the-back penalty. With a first and seven from the 31, Macon fumbled and the Saints’ Mason Oversby recovered.
As the old saying goes, "when it rains, it pours," and the Saints knew what it meant with the next play. Cantrell was intercepted with 1:13 left in the half, and the next play, Macon was in for six. A run by the Tigers was in for two, and Macon County boasted a 32-0 lead at the half.
The second half yielded no better results from the young Saints team. Their first possession went three-and-out, and on the punt a short snap resulted in a short kick. Macon took the ball on the Saints’ 45, and their first play of the second half had them in the end zone. A shuttle pass to Dillahay resulted in six, with a two-point conversion run by Brian Swindel good for two. The Tigers’ led, 40-0.
Another three-and-out by the Saints, gave the ball back to Macon at the 31, but a fumbled handoff, a false start and an incomplete pass, forced the Tigers to punt. A blocked punt gave DeKalb some hope as the third quarter came to an end.
As the fourth quarter began, QB Cantrell was injured on the first play, and backup Colter Norris came in for a series, giving the Saints their best chance of the day of putting points on the board. With a third and 13, Norris threw a beautiful pass to Grayson Redmon in the end zone, but Redmon could not come in with the catch. The next play, on fourth down, Norris threw another pass right on the numbers to Luke Bryant on the three-yard line. Again the pass was dropped.
Macon would take over on downs and seal the shutout, 40-0.
The Saints will travel to Smith County on Thursday to play a game originally scheduled for Aug. 13. The game was cancelled due to field conditions.