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Tigers beat Pioneers
8sports tigers
Top: The 2013 DCHS Tigers took the field in style with some help from the DeKalb Football Cheerleaders. Bottom: Hunter Stone gets a big sack against the Pioneers QB.

The DeKalb County High School Football Tigers took to the field Friday night, opening their season on the road in Warren County. There, the Tigers took on the Pioneers in a game that Warren County wanted badly.
The Tigers entered the game amidst boos from the home crowd in what would be a hostile and sometimes heated match-up. DeKalb County fans were out in force however, countering the jeers with cheers.
The Pioneers got the ball first and looked to go down with a three and out, but during the Warren County punt DeKalb got hit with a roughing the kicker call, giving the ball back to the Pioneers at DeKalb’s 44-yard line. Two plays later, a pass to Warren County’s Drew Davidson put the Pioneers in the end zone with 8:53 on the clock in the first quarter. With a successful extra point attempt, the Pioneers were up 7-0.
Both teams would have two more possessions in the first quarter, each with a sack and DeKalb fumbling the ball on the Pioneers’ 30-yard line. Caught with a celebration penalty, Warren County could not take advantage of the fumble and on DeKalb’s next possession the Tigers would make them pay. On a first and 15, with 9:28 on the clock in the second quarter, Divonta Milan had a 54-yard run in for a Tigers touchdown. With Matthew Poss’ extra point attempt no good, the Pioneers kept a slim lead, 7-6.
The DeKalb defense stepped up as the game wore on, and the Pioneers’ had to punt on their next possession, backing up the Tigers to their own nine-yard line. Two plays later Divonta Milan was hit hard, causing a fumble and knocking Milan out on the play. DeKalb was able to recover the fumble, but Milan, showing signs of a concussion, was out for the game.
For the rest of the drive Warren County got a good dose of Dustin Warner, with several passes to number 25 for first downs. The 91-yard drive ended with a 21-yard pass to Aaron Patterson for QB Steven Jennings’ first high school passing touchdown. After a delay of game on the two-point conversion attempt, A.J. Mooneyham powered the ball in to give the Tigers the lead, 14-7.
With a minute left in the half, DeKalb’s defense was fired up with the lead change. Warren’s next possession resulted in a pass for a six-yard loss, another pass broken up, and a sack by Rickey Spare and Lane Ball. After a punt by the Pioneers, the Tigers took a knee to end the half.
For the second half, the Pioneers looked to make a comeback during their second possession. Warren County drove all the way to DeKalb’s one-yard line, but a false start penalty, a fumble, and a sack of Pioneers’ QB Hunter Mullican by Lane Ball and Hunter Stone kept the Pioneers from the end zone. Faced with a fourth and goal, Warren attempted a field goal, but the kick was blocked and it came up short.
DeKalb would go three and out on their next possession, but as the fourth quarter began A.J. Mooneyham came away with an interception on the Pioneer 33-yard line. Just three plays later, from the eight-yard line, the Tigers would cash in on the turnover with a Jennings pass to Mooneyham for a touchdown. With the extra point attempt by Poss blocked, the Tigers’ lead increased 20-7.
The Pioneers’ next possession saw a barrage of defense with the Pioneers’ QB getting sacked twice. After a punt, DeKalb gave Warren County a good look at Luke Boss and Dustin Warner during their drive. A Jennings’ pass to Mooneyham gave the Tigers the ball with a first and goal on the eight-yard line. After three incomplete pass attempts, the Tigers had to settle for a field goal attempt, but again the kick was no good with the ball going wide left.
On the Pioneers’ next possession, Mooneyham made another big play with an interception and a run to the end zone. A block-in-the-back penalty however nullified the TD, but gave the Tigers the ball with three minutes left in the game.
DeKalb would punt the ball with only 43 seconds to go, but it was too late for the Pioneers. DeKalb took the win, 20-7. 
Offensive game statistics gave the Tigers 96 yards rushing, with Milan coming away with 79 yards, Boss with 44 yards, and Jennings with –27 yards.
The Tigers had 234 yards receiving, including Warner getting 102 yards, Mooneyham 57 yards, and Patterson with 53 yards. Ball had 12 yards, Boss five yards, Milan had six, and Castorena had minus one receiving yards.
Warner had one big return for 67 yards, while Aaron Patterson had a return for 23 yards. Drew Castorena had one return for minus three yards.
After the game, Coach Steve Trapp told the Review that the team has some things to work on, but he was proud of the way the players stayed in the game. "It kind of went the way I expected it. Warren County has improved a lot, and there were a lot of new guys on the field for us tonight. We had some plays where it looked like we were a young football team, but kudos to our guys. They kept battling, and like I told them in the huddle, they grew up a little bit tonight. They never quit, never hung their head, and kept battling. We had to make some adjustments and had to move people around. I just like what I’m working with right now."
When asked about the big play makers of the game, Coach Trapp said there were a lot of players stepping up. "Divonta, we’re going to get him evaluated and hopefully he’ll be back next week. Warner never came off the field. A.P. made a heck of a play right here. We’ve got the match up, and we’ve talked about that all week. A.J. Mooneyham played both sides of the football,  with interceptions, touchdown receptions, and lead blocking. A sophomore that had a heck of a game tonight."
When asked about how his freshman QB, Jennings, did in the game, Coach Trapp said pre-snap management needs improvement. "We had some plays that were not so pretty. A lot of pre-snap stuff will help us out. It’s not just him, but he’s got to control some of that. He made some great plays. He looked good when we rolled him out, and he looked good in the pocket."
"Warren County did a really good job," Trapp continued. "We kind of figured they would attack a freshman quarterback with a lot of pressure, but we were able to make enough plays to come out victorious."
The Tigers travel to Crossville next Friday to take on Stone Memorial.