The DeKalb Middle School Saints football team has made their way to .500 after coming away with a win against the Purple Tigers of Watertown at home last Thursday evening. The game looked evenly matched with both teams moving the ball, but it all came down to which team made more critical mistakes.

The Purple Tigers would get the ball first fielding the ball at the Watertown 29. From there the Tigers would stick to the ground game, pushing all the way down to the DeKalb 29, where a fumble by C.J. Potter was recovered by Devin Fish at the Saints’ 15.

The Saints looked to move the ball as well, but penalties would eventually doom the drive. A carry by Juan Ortega took DeKalb down to the 30, then a keeper by quarterback Jon Hendrix ran the ball down to the 40. A pitch back to Ortega on the next play gained three yards, but a holding call pushed the Saints back to the 28.

Another run by Ortega would gain the penalty yards back, but another hold during a QB carry forced the Saints back once again to the 30. Hendrix would once again run it himself on the next play, but would only get back to the original line of scrimmage. Facing a fourth and 10 from the 40, the Saints would punt.

This time the Purple Tigers would convert their possession into points. Starting at their own 42, a keeper by Coy Fripp resulted in no gain, then a carry by Carter Bass took the ball down to the DeKalb 22 as the first quarter came to a close.

Another QB run was good to the 13, but then a false start backed them up to the 18. Fripp kept the ball on the next two plays, reaching the five yard line, then to the one. The next play, a Potter run up the middle, was good for six points. A two-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Purple Tigers were up, 6-0.

DeKalb started their next possession back at their own 39, and began moving the ball down the field. An Ortega carry gained three yards, then a Hendrix carry was good to the Watertown 45, but once again sloppy play looked as if it might doom the drive. A false start pushed the Saints back to the 50, but an Ortega run put the ball back at the Tiger 45. Another Ortega carry was good to the 34, but a bad snap on the ground ended with Hendrix falling on the ball back at the 36.

Hendrix kept the ball on the next play, taking it down to the Watertown 11, then another keep was good to the four yard line. It would be Ortega that would put DeKalb on the board, up the middle for a touchdown with 1:24 left in the first half. A Hendrix keeper was good for the two-point conversion, and the Saints took the 8-6 lead.

Watertown would start their next possession at their own 41, but with only 1:15 left on the clock they wouldn’t be able to add to their score. They would make it down to the Saints’ 36 before time would run out in the half.

The Saints would get the ball to start the second half, with Fish covering the kickoff at the DeKalb 17. A Hendrix keep netted two yards on the next play, then a beautifully long pass to Fish was good all the way down to the 42. That coupled with a horse collar penalty on Watertown set the Saints up at the Tigers’ 27.

Once again, sloppy play would cost DeKalb a drive. A Hendrix run would lose a couple of yards on the next play, but an Ortega run up the middle was good to the Watertown 16. Another holding call backed DeKalb up to the 26, then a low snap saw Hendrix fall on the ball back at the 35. Ortega would carry the ball to the 30, but then a delay of game penalty cost the Saints five more. Ortega would run once more, but would be held for no gain and DeKalb would be forced to punt.

While the Saints seemed to face bad fortunes, the Purple Tigers faced some bad luck of their own. The punt would back the Tigers up to their own 12, then a Bass run up the middle was fumbled with the Saints recovering at the Watertown 26.

This time the Saints would make them pay. A run by Ortega netted two yards, then a keeper was good to the 13 as the third quarter came to an end. An off sides penalty gave DeKalb a first and five from the eight, but they would only need one more play. Ortega went up the middle for six points with 7:53 left in the game. A Hendrix keep was good for two and the Saints commanded a 16-6 lead.

By this point in the game the Saints looked firmly in control. On the kick off a late hit penalty on DeKalb set the Purple Tigers up at their own 40. A handoff to Bass netted one yard, then another gained four more. A Fripp keeper was good to the DeKalb 46, but a holding penalty brought the ball back to the Watertown 42. Another keeper was stuffed and facing a fourth and eight the Tiger went for it. A pass to Dacio Carter was stopped at the 44 and the Saints took over on downs.

DMS wasted no time to put more points on the board. Taking over on the Tiger 44, an Ortega carry gained two yards, then a hold on a keeper play pushed the Saints back to the DeKalb 46. Another Ortega run put the ball back at the Watertown 47, then a Hendrix run, after a muffed snap, was good to the 19. An un-sportsman-like conduct penalty by the Purple Tigers added to the yardage, setting DeKalb up at the eight yard line.

An Ortega run was good to the five, then a false start pushed the Saints back to the 10. Hendrix kept the ball to the six, then it was his turn for a touchdown. Hendrix ran it in himself with 1:35 left in the game. A two-point keeper was stopped, but DMS was up, 22-6.

Watertown had one more possession with the clock as their enemy. Sticking mainly to the air, the Tigers moved all the way down to the DeKalb 30, before a fumble was recovered by Fish. The Saints would take a knee running out the clock and giving DMS their second victory of the season.