It was not the man running across the field being chased by police that caused such excitement at Saturday’s alumni game, it was truly DeKalb County Tiger Pride!
The DCHS Tiger Alumni gave the Cannon County Alumni a 32-0 beating in Woodbury Saturday night.
The first match of its kind between former DeKalb and Cannon players included Tigers who graduated as far back as 1993. The teams went all out in a full-contact game of football.
While the Tiger defense held the Lions scoreless in the game, 2010 graduate Hunter Poteete led the Tiger alum to a win with four touchdown passes, hitting Justin Poteete (2009), Kevin Kijanski (2011), William Johnson (2005), and Lucas Phillips (2013).
Poteete hit his brother, Justin, with a seven-yarder with less than two minutes on the clock in the first to put DeKalb up 6-0. A successful two-point conversion by Jason Miller (1998) put the tigers up by eight.
Kijanski hauled in a two-yard toss with 9:16 left in the second to give DeKalb a 14-0 advantage. Another conversion by Miller gave the Tigers a 16-0 lead.
Poteete fired a 52-yard missile to Johnson with seven minutes left in the third to take the score to 22-0. Chris Chapman (2013), took the ball in for two more, and the Tigers took a 24-0 lead.
DeKalb capped the game with a 27-yard pass to Lucas Phillips (2013) with eight minutes left in the contest. Tiger Coach Steve Trapp himself (1996) took the two-point conversion in to bring the final tally to 32-0.
Coach Trapp said that Tiger Pride is alive and well, even with the old folks.
"To me that event was a verification of what we have been trying to instill into our program since I got here, and that is Tiger Pride. To see that many fans come together for that event was awesome, and I want to thank everyone who came and supported us.
The coach said playing again was a particular thrill.
"The opportunity to suit up with guys that I have coached and be successful with them was an awesome experience. To catch a pass from one of the best players ever here at DeKalb was special, because I coached Hunter in Jr. Pro and high school. To see him throw a TD to his brother was great to see as well. The opportunity to play with my cousin Brad Trapp was special, because he did not even play in high school and now he is helping us coach. The chance to play with the guys I played with in school and the ones I didn’t was great as well. The chance to play in front of our current players to hopefully prove to them how special this sport is, and how important it is to DeKalb County, was great as well."