The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team took on the Goodpasture Cougars last Friday night in a game that was actually closer than the score might appear. The Tigers had high hopes for the Senior Night match, hoping to gain momentum for an all-important upcoming district game on the road against Stone Memorial.

The game got off to a rough start for DeKalb. The Tigers won the toss and elected to defer until the second half. Goodpasture would return the kickoff to their own 35, and from there make a quick strike. A run by Jaron Elkins ended with a one-yard loss, then another run resulted in no gain. The next play, a deep pass to Josh Williams, went all the way for six points. With the extra point, the Cougars took the 7-0 lead with 10:43 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers would find the end zone more elusive. On the kickoff, Isaac Knowles would return to the DeKalb 24. There, a pass to John Ellis was good to the 31, then a carry by Colby Barnes gave them a first down at the 35. Barnes carried two more times, resulting in a one-yard loss, then a pass to Knowles took the ball to the Cougar 30. There, the drive would stall.

A Barnes run was stopped at the line, then QB Briz Trapp was sacked back at the 36. On a third and 16 play, Trapp could find no one open and had to throw it away. The Tigers were forced to punt.

The Cougars would return the ball to their own 22, but a penalty would kill any momentum. A Elkins run was good to the 26, then a A.J. Brooks keeper was stopped at the line, but a block in the back penalty backed them up to the 10. There, an Elkins run was good to the 17, then a pass to Elkins was stopped at the 26. Facing a fourth down, Goodpasture punted.

DeKalb would start at their own 22, but wouldn’t get much out of the drive. A pass to Knowles was good to the 45, but a hold brought the ball back to the 12. A Barnes run was then stopped in the backfield at the eight, then a pass to Nathaniel Crook fell incomplete. A pass to Holden Trapp was stopped at the line, and facing a fourth down the Tigers decided to punt.

An offsides penalty gave the Tigers a little breathing room on the punt, which rolled dead at the DeKalb 48. There, a Brooks run was stopped for no gain, then Brooks was sacked back at the 50. As the second quarter began, Brooks was hit by Wil Farris, causing a fumble and the Tigers falling on the ball at the Cougar 46.

Trapp was sacked himself at the Tiger 40, then a pass to John Ellis was good to the 45. DeKalb finally looked to be in the game, and a pass to Knowles took the ball to the Cougar 39. A Knowles carry was good to the 33, then a Barnes run was stopped for a one-yard loss. Trapp connected with Knowles again on the next play, taking the ball to the 22, but there the drive would stall. A Barnes run was stuffed, then a pass to Barnes fell incomplete. A pass to Knowles in the end zone was broken up, then on a fourth down play, a pass to Knowles went over his head. The Cougars took over on downs.

Goodpasture would go three and out on their next possession, punting and giving the Tigers the ball at midfield. It was also about this time that this reporter took one for the team, getting tangled up in a sideline tackle.

DeKalb would again drive deep into Cougar territory, but would be unable to capitalize on the field position. After a keep was stuffed, a pass to Knowles was downed at the 22. Another Knowles reception was good for two more, then a Nathaniel Crook run was good to the 10. The Tigers were poised to strike, but couldn’t make it happen. A pass to Knowles was incomplete, then another was stopped at the line. On third down, a fumbled snap was recovered by Trapp at the 14, and DeKalb needing points went for a field goal attempt. The kick was up but wide left. The Cougars kept the 7-0 lead with 1:21 left in the half.

The Cougars would start at their own 20 and looked to score again before halftime. A hold backed them up to the eight, then a pass to Josh Williams set Goodpasture up at the DeKalb 32. Another pass to Williams fell incomplete, then a keeper was stopped at the line. With just a few seconds left on the clock a pass in the end zone was broken up by Nolan Gottlied. The score remained 7-0.

As the second half began, the Tigers started at their own 37. In the wildcat formation, Knowles kept the ball and ran it all the way down for the touchdown. With the extra point by Axel Aranda, DeKalb tied the score 7-7 with 11:47 left in the third.

The Cougars would start their next possession at their own 36, but they would only move to the DeKalb 48 before losing yards and being forced to punt.

DeKalb would again drive down the field and looked as if they would add points to the board. Starting at their own 22, a Knowles run was good to the 24, then a Crook run took the ball to the 25. Trapp then threw deep with Knowles making a diving catch at the Cougar 45. Another pass to Knowles was caught at the 22, then a pass to Holden Trapp was thrown away. Another wildcat run was good to the 11, but a hold brought the ball back to the 32. Another pass to Holden Trapp Trapp fell incomplete, then Briz Trapp kept the ball down to the 26. On a fourth down call, a pass to Knowles was broken up and the Cougars took over.

The Tigers defense stepped up, and Goodpasture couldn’t move the ball. After a unsportsmanlike penalty on the Cougars backed them up to the nine, Brooks was sacked at the five. A false start backed the Cougars up to the two and a half yard line and they punted from their own end zone.

Knowles returned the punt to the Goodpasture 35, and from there they struck again. A wildcat play was good to the 25, then a run by Barnes was good for the touchdown. The extra point was no good, but the Tigers took a 13-7 lead with 1:34 left in the third.

As the quarter ticked down the Cougars looked to retake the lead. Starting at their own 36, a second down pass to O Henderson was good to the DeKalb 46. A Brooks keep was good to the 42, then another gained one more yard. A pass to Henderson took the ball to the 27, then a late hit penalty on the Tigers set Goodpasture up at the 11. From there, as the third quarter came to an end, a Brooks keep was in the end zone. With the extra point, the Cougars regained the 14-13 lead.

As the fourth quarter began, the Tigers started at their own 35. DeKalb relied heavily on the wildcat formation, with Knowles handing the ball to Crook for a four yard gain, then a Knowles run to the 48. Knowles gained two more to midfield, then another Crook run was good to the 40. Knowles carried to the 35 on the next play, then he lost for yards on another carry. Another Knowles run gained the yards back, then on a fourth and five, a Trapp pass to Knowles was good to the 29. It was all for nothing, as a holding penalty negated the play. On a fourth and 14, a reverse counter play saw Knowles losing the ball and falling on it at the DeKalb 45. The Cougars took over.

Right away a Cougar keeper was good to the DeKalb 20, but a sack by Tyler Estes on the next played downed them at the 23. Another keep took the ball to the 11, then another was stopped for a one-yard loss. On fourth down, the Cougars went for it. The keeper was stopped at the 11, giving the Tigers the ball.

A Knowles wildcat run took the ball to the 31, but there the drive stalled. A pass to Knowles was stopped at the line, then a pass to Holden Trapp fell incomplete. After a fumbled snap, Trapp picked the ball up and attempted to throw it away, but was called for intentional grounding at the seven. With time ticking away, the Tigers went for it. A deep pass to Knowles was incomplete at the 40.

 With only 1:24 left on the clock, and with the Tigers with only one timeout, Goodpasture could have simply run out the clock, but not realizing this they pushed on for the score. DeKalb coaches told their players to let the Cougars into the end zone. Elkins was handed the ball and with 1:24 left in the game was in for six. With the extra point, the Cougars were up by eight, 21-13, but the Tigers would have one last chance.

The Tigers got the ball at the DeKalb 42, and quickly moved downfield. A pass to Trapp was good to the 48, then another was out of bounds. A keep was good to the Goodpasture 45, aided by a hit out of bounds penalty by the Cougars. Set up at the 30, a pass to Knowles went over his head, then another was ruled out of bounds. Another pass to Knowles was incomplete, but an interference penalty gave the Tigers new life at the 15. With just 10 seconds left on the clock, a pass to Austin Nicholson was incomplete in the end zone, then with five second left to play, a pass to Knowles was batted down in the end zone.

The Cougars took the 21-13 victory. The loss puts the Tigers at 5-4 on the season. DeKalb will face Stone Memorial on the road next Friday for their final regular season game to determine 3rd place in the Region.