The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team traveled to Madison, TN, last Friday evening, where they took on a tough Goodpasture Cougars team. The teams would turn out to be closely matched throughout most of the game, but it was early in the first half that the Tigers would let things get out of hand. They would dig a hole that they just wouldn’t be able to climb out of.

The Tigers would receive to start the game, and Holden Trapp would get a good return to the DeKalb 37. From there, the Tigers would drive into Cougar territory, but penalties and miscues would stall the possession.

Barnes would get a carry to the 44, then he would run it down to the Goodpasture 17. A false start would back the Tigers up to the 24, and runs by Barnes and Malachi Trapp would only gain three yards. QB Jordan Parker would fumble but fall on the ball back at the 29, and facing a fourth down and 22, DeKalb went for it. A pass to Malachi Trapp was downed in the backfield at the 38, turning the ball over to the Cougars.

It would only take two plays for Goodpasture to get on the board. An underthrown pass was caught at the DeKalb 27, then a run by Jaron Elkins was in for the touchdown. The extra point was good and with 7:22 left in the first, the Cougars led 7-0.

On the kickoff, once again Holden Trapp would get a good return, up to the DeKalb 36. There, Barnes would run for three yards, then a pass to Barnes was good to the Goodpasture 47. Barnes would run up the middle two more times, reaching the 41, then Parker would be sacked back at the 47. Facing a fourth and 10, the Tigers punted.

Once again, it would take the Cougars only two plays to put more points on the board. After a fair catch at the 19, an Elkins run netted three yards, then a run up the middle broke loose for another touchdown. The extra point was good and with 2:29 left in the first, Goodpasture was up 14-0.

This time Holden Trapp would return the kickoff to the 35, and DeKalb would finally get into the game. Barnes would take it up the middle for three yards, then a pass to Malachi Trapp was down to the 38. Another Barnes carry took the ball into Cougar territory at the 44, then, as the second quarter began, another pass to Malachi was good to the 26.

Parker would connect with Malachi again for four more yards, then a pass to Barnes would fall incomplete. It was all Barnes from there on. He went up the middle to the 15, then again to the seven. He was handed the ball once more and this time he was in for six. Juan Ortega’s extra point was good, and with 9:41 left in the half.

The Cougar offense had only been on the field for four plays at this point in the game, but as the game went on the Tiger defense stiffened. Goodpasture would return to their own 33, and would slowly move down the field.

Musa Wellman would get three carries, taking the ball to the DeKalb 46, then a pass to Braxton Lawrence would fall incomplete. Elkins would get three carries of his own, moving the ball down to the DeKalb 25, where a Wellman run would be stopped in the backfield by Tyler Estes at the 27. On fourth and five, the Cougars rolled the dice. It was Elkins again, this time to the 19.

With a fresh set of downs in the red zone, the Cougars again eyed the end zone. Wellman ran to the 10, then again to the five. He was handed the ball once more, stopped at the three, then J.D. Mastin kept the ball himself for no gain. A direct snap to Tanner Lane lost one yard, and with a fourth and goal, again Goodpasture went for it. It was Elkins, up the right side and in for the touchdown. The PAT was good and with 1:51 left in the half, Goodpasture was up 21-7.

DeKalb would return to their own 24, where sloppy play almost ended in disaster. A pass to Malachi Trapp was high but dropped, then a Barnes run netted four yards. A muffed snap ended with a Parker sack back at the 18, and with time ticking away the Tigers set up to punt. Nolan Gottlied        was snapped the ball, but he didn’t get the kick off in time. The punt was blocked with the Cougars recovering at the DeKalb 13.

With only 36 seconds left in the half, the Cougars smelled blood. An Elkins run was good to the five, but a holding call backed Goodpasture up to the 20. There, a fumbled snap resulted in the ball being thrown away, then another pass play was tipped at the line. An illegal use of the hands penalty on the Cougars backed them up to the 36, then a pass was broken up as the half came to a close. The Tigers defense had held them off.

As the second half began, the Cougars would get the ball, but it was time for some luck to be on the Tigers’ side of the field. Goodpasture would return to their own 22, where an Elkins run would get a first down at the 36. Elkins would gain two more on the next play, then be downed at the 45 on the next carry. He would get the ball once more, up the left side to the Cougar 48 for a first down. There the drive would stall.

A Wellman carry was stuffed for no gain, then a muffed snap resulted in a sack by Barnes back at the 37. A pass to Lawrence fell on the ground, and facing fourth down the Cougars would punt. The snap was out and almost blocked, but was down to the DeKalb 30.

Goodpasture then got a big dose of Colby Barnes. A run was good to the 42, then another was up the middle to the 49. Another Barnes carry was good to the Cougar 33, then another was down at the 35, but a hold negated the yards. With a first down and 23, a Parker pass to John Ellis was good for a touchdown. With Ortega’s PAT, the Tigers had cut the lead, 21-14 with 6:05 left in the third.

Goodpasture would return to the 25, and from there stick to the running game. Four carries by Wellman had the Cougars down to the DeKalb 39, then Elkins broke tackles to make his way to the 26. Another Elkins carry was down to the 16, then Wellman went up the middle to the 12. Wellman would lose a yard on the next carry, then Elkins would get to the 11. With a fourth and five at the 11, the Cougars tried to draw the Tigers off sides, but they wouldn’t get it. They set up for a field goal. The kick was almost blocked but went through the uprights. The Cougars were up 24-14 with 21 seconds left in the third.

Malachi Trapp would return the kick to the DeKalb 19, where the Tigers looked to score some points of their own. Barnes would run to the 22, then a pass to Ellis was good to the 35. Another Barnes carry was good to the Cougar 46, where he would run up the sidelines to the 37. Barnes would be stuffed on the following play, but would get the first down at the 35 on the next.

Malachi Trapp would run for no gain, then Barnes would get the ball again to the 13. Another bad snap by DeKalb ended with Parker falling on the ball at the 20, then Barnes gained only two on the next run. Parker eyed Malachi Trapp on the next play, with the ball bouncing out of Trapp’s hands. Ortega then came onto the field for the field gold attempt. For the second week in a row, Ortega’s kick hit the upright, but this time bounce in for three. With 5:51 left to play, the Tigers cut the lead, 24-17.

The DeKalb D-line got better and better as the game wore on and this time would hold Goodpasture to a three and out. On the punt, the kicker would shank the ball, going out of bounds at the Cougar 39. The Tigers were set up to tie the game.

Barnes was handed the ball, to the 37, then 30, then 27. With a fresh set of downs and 1:37 left in the game, fans were on the edge of their seats. A pass play was downed at the 30, then Parker threw to Holden Trapp. The throw was up then intercepted by Andrew McWilliams. The Cougars would run the clock out and take the 24-17 victory.

Barnes would have 26 carries for 188 yards and one touchdown in the game, while Malachi Trapp had one carry for two yards. Bad snaps gave Jordan Parker five carries for minus 32 yards. John Ellis had two catches for 59 yards and one touchdown, while Malachi Trapp had five receptions for 33 yards. Barnes had one catch for 15 yards.

The Tigers play their final regular season game at home next Friday during Senior Night. They will face Stone Memorial.

Class 4A Region 4 Standings are as follows:
Macon County: 7-2 (3-1), Stone Memorial: 8-1 (3-1), Upperman: 7-2 (3-1), DeKalb County: 6-3 (2-2), Cumberland County: 2-7 (1-3), and Livingston Academy: 0-9 (0-4).