After weeks of relentless sunshine, coupled with a lack of rain, DeKalb County was in a mini heat wave. The sky opened up Friday night, just prior to the opening kickoff at Van Hooser Stadium, and the temperature dipped several degrees, cooling off everyone in attendance.  Or so it would have seemed.
The DeKalb County Tiger football team came out onto the football field, as hot as ever, scoring on eight of their 12 possessions. The Tiger defense had another outstanding game, allowing only 209 total yards, while having caused three turnovers.
The game started with the Lions starting on offense and the Tigers defense came out and stopped the Lions from gaining a first down. As the Lions punted the ball, DeKalb's Zach Taylor and Will Molander blocked it.
The Tigers began their first drive of the night on the 21-yard line of Cannon County. After a false start penalty on DeKalb and a scramble by quarterback Lucas Phillips, the Tigers were facing a third down and 14.
Senior Tigers running back, Dylan Freeney, broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers the lead. With Taylor's point- after try good, DeKalb led with 8:55 remaining in the first quarter 7-0.
The Tigers scored their second touchdown on their third drive of the night when Tiger running back, Cody Puckett, took the hand off and plunged one yard for the score. With Taylor's PAT, DeKalb extended their lead 14-0.
The first play of the second quarter started with a bang. An interception by Molander was negated due to a roughing-the-passer penalty by the Tiger defense.
However, the 11-play drive stalled, and the Lions were forced to punt. The Tigers’ defense held the Lions scoreless the remainder of the first half, while the Tigers’ offense scored on two of their next three possessions.
With 3:48 remaining in the second quarter, QB L. Phillips found an open Molander, who sliced his way through the defense to reach pay dirt for a 56-yard touchdown.
The Tiger defense came out and on third down and five yards to go, outside linebacker Cody Puckett, stepped in front of the Lion pass and took the ball to the Cannon County 36-yard line.
A key fourth down conversion by wide receiver Zach Taylor for 27-yards, set up running back Chris Chapman's 1-yard touchdown run. The Tigers went into the half time break with a 28-0 lead.
The Tigers’ return man, Chapman, received the second-half opening kickoff and returned it to the Tigers own 34-yard line. On the first play of the second half, QB L. Phillips lost the football and a Lion defender picked up the ball,  racing to the end zone for a Lions  touchdown.
However, a block in the back during the return, took the points off the board and placed the ball on the DeKalb 40-yard line. The Lions were then given a first and ten and   were able to drive down the field, helped by a questionable call and score on a 27-yard play. After a 2-point conversion run failed, The Tigers controlled the lead 28-6.
The Tigers’ next two touchdowns came only 38 seconds apart, with 8:18 left in the third quarter. Tigers’ wide receiver Zach Thompson, hauled in a 14-yard pass for the first touchdown. Then, after a Taylor touchback on the kickoff, the Lions started on their own 20-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Tigers outside linebacker, Ricky Spare, recovered a Lion fumble on the Lions’ 9-yard line.
Just 38 seconds after Thompson's score, the Tigers hit pay dirt again when L. Phillips hooked up with brother Sebastian Phillips on a 9-yard swing pass to the left side of the field. And, with 7:40 remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers extended the lead to 42-6. At that point, the clock ran continuously.
The next Lion drive consumed some time off the scoreboard, with the Lions producing no points. The Lions were forced to punt deep from within their own territory, giving the Tiger team good field position.
Starting from the Cannon County 24-yard line, the Tigers were able to punch it in when Freeney raced 20 yards for his second touchdown of the night and with Taylor's P.A. T., the tigers lead grew to 49-6.
On the next defensive stand for the tigers, linebacker Ricky Spare made a sensational interception on the sideline by tipping the ball to himself and making the catch before he went out of bounds.
On the fourth play of the ensuing drive, the Tigers’ Taylor caught a 4-yard pass for DeKalb's final touchdown of the night, and Taylor's P.A.T.  was good. DeKalb led 56-6.  The Lions had only one more drive of the night and were not able to capitalize on it.
Some of the reserves saw some playing time, and on the last play of the game, reserve quarterback, Aaron Patterson ran the ball around the end as time expired.
After the game, the Review asked Head Coach Steve Trapp some questions about the contest.
The Smithville Review: Another great win and the first district victory. Can you elaborate on how important your first district win is?
Head Coach Steve Trapp: It's great. Ultimately, district games are what determine the play-offs. If you win the majority of the district games, then you are going to go to the play offs; you are a high seed in your district. If you are first or second in your district, then you are guaranteed a play-off spot, no matter what happens. Right now, we have started off 3-0, and that is a great spot to be in, but the most important thing right now is the next game. It's good to get that first district win; we want to keep things rolling. I don't think anyone has started 4-0 in DeKalb football history, and that is an accomplishment that I want to see next week.
Review: There were a lot of flags and turnovers tonight. You didn't seem to have a problem with this in the first two games; they were much cleaner. Do you think it caught up with you in this third game?
Trapp: Definitely. That is what I talked to the guys about; that is one of the most disappointing things about tonight. Everybody is going to see 56-6 and say, “wow.” But, we were so unclean. We had three turnovers again and again,including a turnover that allowed them to score. We had so many flags. This game had to be handled from an official standpoint to make sure that it didn't get out of hand. I thought they did a good job with that. Ultimately, we had too many flags, too many turnovers. That's not going to cut it with different teams in our district.
Review: The offense really rolled tonight. What are your thoughts on their performance?
Trapp: We put a lot of points up on the board, but it wasn't consistent. When the offense was clean, it did what it was supposed to do. When we weren't clean, when we weren't effective and missed some things, it didn't look good. Ultimately, it's never going to be perfect. Even though the score was big, we still have a lot of work to do, to beat the teams that we want to beat. That's what we are going to do; we are going to continue to work. We are going to work Monday. We are going to work extremely hard for this community and these fans. We are going to try and be the first team to start 4-0.
Review: Defensively, you looked good. This is the third week with Coach Bernie, and he is playing against his former team. Emotions are pretty high. Do you have any thoughts about this?
Trapp: Right now, stats are stats. This is the best defense in the district. We have given up only 20 points in three games. Offensively we have scored more than anyone else, but ultimately our biggest challenge is going to be next week. We are going to see how they respond. Defensively, they are getting the job done. We knew coming in, with the type of offense Cannon was running, there would be a few plays that they would get some yards on, but ultimately, we controlled it. There were some plays when the defense got challenged, but I thought that there were some negative plays. I think our defense has to build and learn with that sudden change when we have a turnover and a short field; we have to get out there with pride and enthusiasm. We have to say, “Hey, we are giving it back to our offense.” This is the third week in a row that they have had a short field, which is a challenge within itself. We are going to have to rise to the occasion.
Review: You have the Homecoming game coming up this week against White County. What are your expectations?
Trapp: I expect what we have seen the past couple of years. Coach Malone has done a good job of reviving that program. I think we have a pretty good read on what they are going to do. We are going to watch the film and see if there is anything different to it. I expect a lot of pressure from their defense. Offensively, they are a play option team, that will run the ball downhill. We have to strap it on, and get ready for a physical ball game next week.
Review: Do you feel like your team's mindset is in the right place? After starting 3-0, do you think there is a chance that they will become comfortable with their play?
Trapp: There is definitely a chance for that. Ultimately, it is the job of the coaching staff and the leaders on our team to make sure that they understand what Tiger Pride is all about. We have talked all week about how we cannot assume that it is just going to happen for us. The only thing that we need to assume is that when we walk on this field to play football, they are going to do it the way they have been trained and coached.
The Tigers host their Homecoming game on Friday, September 9, at 7:00 p.m. against White County at Van Hooser Stadium. Come out and show your TIGER PRIDE!