Once again the Tigers don’t make it easy on fans. Much like the Tennessee Titans, the Tigers like to live on the edge, making fans sit at the edge of their seats, biting their nails, and grasping whatever good-luck token they have available. Surely, if Tums were available at the concession stand, it would be a best seller.

So it was last Friday night, as DeKalb traveled to Carthage to take on the Smith County Owls for the first road game of the football season. It was supposed to be the Owls’ year, with a massive line and a top-notch QB, but the Tigers have some talent of their own, and it would turn out to be a battle on the grid iron.

Smith County would receive to begin the game and would quickly put points on the board. Starting their drive at their own 27, the running game gained them yards on the legs of Bryce Currie and Kylan Johnson. At their own 47, a keep by QB Kaden Powell was good to the 14, then a run by Jamison Keeley took the ball to the end zone. With the extra point kick by Johnny Lyda the Owls took the first lead, 7-0, with 9:23 left in the first.

The Tigers would begin their first drive also at their own 27, and would make a statement that they were there to play. A pair of runs by Colby Barnes took the ball to the 33, then a pass to Johnny Skinner was complete to the 41. A keeper by QB Briz Trapp ended at the Owl 21, then another Barnes carry was good to the nine. Trapp called his own number again to the three, then Barnes powered his way into the end zone for six. Juan Ortega added the extra point and with 5:10 left in the first, DeKalb tied the game 7-7.

Smith County’s next possession ended with a big mistake, but DeKalb would not be able to take advantage. Starting at their own 26, a false start backed the Owls up, then a fumble ended with the Tigers falling on the ball at the 17.

A reverse play ended with Malachi Trapp taking the ball into the end zone, but a holding call would negate the score. Backed up to the 23, a bad snap over Briz Trapp’s head ended up with Trapp falling on the ball at the 37. A run by Barnes only got them to the 32, then a pass to Austin Nicholson fell incomplete. The Tigers were forced to punt.

With the punt going into the end zone, the Owls started at their own 20, where Smith would begin another scoring drive. A Peyton Hix run was good to the 49, then a Kylan Johnson carry took the ball to the Tigers’ 38. A Ethan Madewell carry lost two yards, but a Powell keep was down at the 22. Another run by Johnson was stuffed for no gain, then a fumble by Powell ended with him recovering at the 22. The next play, Powell found Riley Lollar wide open in the end zone. With the extra point, Smith County took a 14-7 lead with 11:11 left in the half.

Mistakes and penalties continued to plague the Tigers, and their next possession it again cost them points. Starting at their own 35, Barnes and Trapp would carry the team to the Owl 40, where again a pass to Malachi Trapp was complete and run into the end zone. Once again, a holding call nullified the touch down and backed the Tigers up. After a couple more incomplete passes, DeKalb had to punt.

The Owls would do no better. Starting at their own 13, they would only make the 31 before they themselves were forced to punt. From their own 18, again mistakes doomed the drive. Right off the bat, another snap over Trapp’s head ended in a big loss of yards. Later, Trapp would then narrowly avoid a safety after being sacked back at the one yard line. The Tigers would punt from inside their own end zone.

Neither team would move as the clock ticked down, with the half coming to a close.

The Tigers would receive to start the third quarter, and looked to get the game back to even. Holden Trapp would return to the DeKalb 30, where a pass to Malachi Trapp was good to the 40. A keeper netted one yard, then a Barnes run was good to the Owls’ 34. Malachi Trapp would catch the ball again and take it to the 10, but once again a holding call would take his yardage away.

A pass to Josh May was downed at the 26, then Barnes would push his way through for a hard fought yard. A keeper then had the Tigers at the 12, and Barnes would gain one more yard. Another keeper was stuffed at the line, then Barnes acted as a receiver, catching the ball and taking it in for six. With the extra point, the Tigers had tied the score 14-14 with 6:27 left in the half.

From that point on it became a defensive game with both sides stiffening up. The Owls would return the kickoff to their own 27, and sticking to the ground they would make it down to the Tigers’ 30. There, an unsportsmanlike penalty backed them up 10, where a couple of near interceptions and a run for 10, forced them to punt.

The Tigers would again battle their own demons with the possession. Starting at the 32, a run up the middle gained three, but an illegal procedure call on the next play backed them up five. At the 30, yet another bad snap ended with Trapp falling on the ball at the 10, where Barnes would only gain to the 14. The Tigers would punt.

As the fourth quarter began, the possessions would go back and forth, with the Owls having to punt at their own 49, then the Tigers able to move to the Smith County 30, aided by a cutting penalty by the Owls. There the drive would stall and DeKalb would lose yards before they would have to punt.

The Owls would again start at their own 20, and on the ground move to the 34. There a pass was broken up by Ari White, then another was broken up by Austin Nicholson. A Powell keep was good only to the 40, and facing a fourth and two with the clock ticking down, the Owls gambled. A Keeley run was stopped at the line, with the Tigers taking over on downs.

With the clock counting down the Tigers didn’t want to move to overtime. A Barnes run was good to the 32, then another was good to the 30. There, Briz Trapp carried the ball himself, down to the 17. Barnes would power down to the 11, then he would carry again setting up a long field goal try at the 14. With the kicking game showing signs of trouble in last week’s game, Juan Ortega took to the field to attempt the 31 yarder. With four seconds left in the game, the kick was up and through. The Tigers claimed the 17-14 victory.

The Tigers will host the Macon County Tigers, who are also 2-0, in a rare Thursday night game, September 1. The TSSAA has mandated each team to play a Thursday night game due to a shortage of game officials in the area. The game will be the season region opener for both teams. So far, Macon County has defeated East Robertson 43-33 and Westmoreland 20-15. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. at DCHS.