The DeKalb Middle School Saints football team finally got on track last week, not only scoring their first points of the season, but claiming their first win as well. On the road in Trousdale County, the Saints dominated the Yellow Jackets on the field.

DMS would receive to start the game, and would gain great field position on the kickoff. Devin Fish would return the ball all the way down to the Trousdale 34. From there the Saints mount a 10-play drive that would see their first touchdown of the season.

Keeping it on the ground, the Saints ran three plays for a first down at the 22. Then, after a false start penalty backed them up five, a Jon Hendrix keeper resulted in no gain, then a run by Juan Ortega took the ball down to the 21. Facing a third and nine, another run by Ortega was stuffed at the line.

On fourth and nine, the Saints decided to go for it. A beautiful pass by Hendrix to Hunter Buchanan was good to the three yard line. From there, a keeper took it to the one foot line, then another carry by Ortega was good for a touchdown.  Hendrix would run the ball in himself for the two-point conversion, and the Saints were up 8-0 with 2:47 left in the first quarter.

The Saints were far from finished, and end up dominating the first half. On the kickoff, the Yellow Jackets returned to their own 43. From there, on the first play, a run by Brody Wright was fumbled and recovered by the Saints at the Trousdale 42. The offense was back on the field.

Once again the Saints moved the ball methodically down the field. A keeper was good down to the 34, then a pass to Fish fell incomplete. On third down, Ortega was handed the ball, and ran it down to the 28. From there, a Hendrix keep took the ball to the 26, but a carry by Wyatt Carter lost a yard at the 27, as the end of the first quarter came to a close.

Another false start backed the Saints up more, then Ortega fumbled, but was able to recover at the 38. Facing a fourth and 20, once again the Saints would roll the dice. A Hendrix pass to Fish was complete and taken all the way down to the five yard line. From there, Ortega was handed the ball for no gain, but was handed the ball again and was in for the touchdown. A pass to Conner Hopkins fell incomplete for the two-point conversion, but the Saints were up, 14-0.

On the kickoff, DMS once again showed that they preferred to play offense. The kick was made, then Conner Hopkins fell on the live ball at the Trousdale 38. From there, a QB run took the ball to the 32, then a Carter run went up the middle to the 19. It was then that Ortega broke loose for a run to the end zone, but the TD was called back after a flag for five men in the backfield.

With a first and 15 from the Yellow Jacket 24, a keeper was good for only one yard, then an Ortega run was good to the 18. On at third and nine, a Hendrix pass at the goal line was intercepted by Drew Carman and ran back to the 23. Trousdale had avoided another score by the Saints.

The Yellow Jackets finally had the ball, but with the clock at 2:55 left in the half, they wouldn’t be able to take advantage. They would move to the DeKalb 44, but a holding penalty would back them up, just before the end of the half. DMS would run 22 plays in the first half, compared to Trousdale’s seven.

Trousdale would receive to start the second half, and would return to midfield, but, backed up after a hold, they would only net three yards before being forced to punt.

Once again the Saints would move down the field, but this time would not be able to convert into points. Relying mainly on the running game, handoffs to Ortega and keepers by Hendrix took the ball to the DeKalb 45, then a holding penalty backed them up to the 35. A Carter run took the ball back to the 42 as the third quarter came to an end.

A Preston Taylor run resulted in no gain, then runs by Ortega moved the ball to the Yellow Jacket 47. From there, Ortega ran to the 23, then a couple of Taylor carries moved the ball to the 19. That is where the drive would stall. A pass to Fish fell incomplete, then a Hendrix run was stopped at the line, giving Trousdale the ball.

Even so, the Saints had eat up valuable time on the clock, and with just 3:23 left to play, the Yellow Jackets couldn’t get things moving. Once again, the DMS defense was tough and Trousdale would only be able to move to their own 49 before time expired. The Saints took the 14-0 victory.

The Saints play their next game at home on Thursday, August 26, as they face off against Watertown. Game time is at 6:30.