The woes for the DeKalb County High School Tigers football team continued last week after another nonconference game, this time against Stone Memorial, pulled away from the Tigers’ grasp.
In the second and final home game, before embarking for six weeks on the road, the visiting team hit the Tigers hard with the running game. That, combined with poor tackling, made for a long night for the black and gold.
The game started off promising, with an early offensive surge by the Tigers. With SM getting the ball first, the DeKalb defense held Stone to a three-and-out, forcing them to punt and setting up a return by Aaron Patterson all the way back to the Stone 16.
The Tigers drove down to the one-foot line where they faced fourth down. Opting to go for it, the ball was handed to Luke Boss who powered his way in for a touchdown. The extra point kick by Matthew Poss was good and the Tigers were in business, 7-0.
Stone Memorial’s next drive looked menacing. The team started their drive at their own 35, then gave the Tigers a heavy dose of something they would see the rest of the night, running back Justin Johnson. Mostly on the legs of Johnson, SM moved the ball 12 plays down to the DeKalb 12-yard-line. There, facing a fourth down, Stone went for it handing the ball to running back Jared Debord. The play resulted in a loss, and DeKalb took over at their own 16.
DeKalb’s next drive took them into the second quarter, and had them back in Stone territory. A long run by Boss, aided by a personal foul penalty, put DeKalb on the SM 25. Another run by Boss on fourth down, kept the drive alive and set the Tigers up on the 13. There, the drive stalled and DeKalb had to settle for a Poss field goal. The Tigers were up 10-0 with 10:03 left in the half.
Stone Memorial started their next possession on their own 26, and proceeded to move down the field. Aided by a DeKalb off sides penalty on fourth and five, Stone went 11 plays to the DeKalb one. There a run by Johnson gave them their first points of the game. The Tigers still led, 10-7 with 3:58 left in the half.
DeKalb’s next drive was plagued by incomplete passes and penalties, and they would be forced to punt. SM took over at their own 39 and they would strike quickly. Runs by Johnson, and keepers by QB Austin Helton placed Stone on the DeKalb four. Helton then called his own number and ran it in for a TD. The extra point was good and with only 40 second left in the half SM took a 14-10 lead.
At the start of the second half, DeKalb’s troubles continued. Their first snap was plagued with a holding penalty, then a sack of Tigers’ QB Steven Jennings on third down backed them up even further. DeKalb was forced to punt, and Stone would take advantage.
SM took control at their own 43, and on the legs of Johnson, and a QB keeper by Helton, they were on the DeKalb eight in three plays. On the next play, the ball was handed to Johnson who was in for six. With 8:08 left in the third, SM was up, 21-10.
The next possession for the Tigers was even worse. Starting from their own 20, a pass to Patterson gave the Tigers a first down on their own 44. Then, a keeper by Jennings was fumbled and recovered by Stone.
Again, Johnson was the workhorse for Stone. Poor tackling allowed SM to go nine plays before finding the end zone. With 2:18 left in the third, Stone was up, 28-10.
Down but not out, DeKalb rallied on their next possession. Jennings mounted an air attack, spreading the ball out to three different receivers. Passes to Patterson and Jonathon Munoz set the Tigers up at the Stone five, where a pass to Drew Castorena was good for six. The extra point was good and the Tigers were still in the game 28-17 with 8:51 left to play.
Stone’s next drive saw more of Johnson, but penalties stalled the movement and they were forced to punt. The kick backed DeKalb up however, with the Tigers starting at their own one-yard-line.
DeKalb dug themselves out of the hole quickly, with a couple of first down passes to Patterson, and another first down pass to Castorena. Then, luck fell in favor of Stone Memorial. A Jennings pass was deflected and bounced off of two different players before landing in the arms of a Stone player. It was the last gasp for the Tigers. With 3:57 left to play, SM took over at the DeKalb 41.
A seven-play drive with Johnson and Helton pushed Stone in for their final points of the game. SM took the victory, 35-17.
When asked about Stone Memorial’s hard ground assault, Tigers Head Coach Steve Trapp said it was expected. "That was no surprise, it’s what we knew they were going to do. We had issues tackling last week, and we didn’t tackle much better this week either."
The Tigers two opening games were non-district games, but the team will face Livingston on the road next Friday. Coach Trapp said that’s the only good thing about the two losses. "That’s the only positive I can spin to my team right now is that these two games were not district games. I still believe in our guys. They’re going to continue to work hard, but they’re going to have to make the choice to dig down and fight, and play this sport the way it’s supposed to be played. We’ll come back to work and see if we can get that done."
