The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team ended their season last Friday night, falling in the first round of the playoffs to a strong Red Bank Lions team. The Tigers’ last game went much the same way their first game of the season went, with one star player sidelined with an injury, and another being taken out early on in the game.
The DeKalb County crowd made their presence known in Red Bank, with Tiger attendance outdoing the home team by far. Tiger fans made the two-hour trip, near Chattanooga, to cheer on the underdog black and gold.
DeKalb won the toss and decided to defer until the second half. Right away, the Lions showed why they were the top team in their region. Starting at their own 40, a third and 10 run by Josiah Featherstone had the ball down at the Tiger 10, where an Olivir Merritt carry was downed at the one. Both Featherstone and Merritt would each be handed the ball again, but stuffed at the line by the Tiger defense. On a fourth and goal at the one, Featherstone was handed the ball once again, up the left side for the touchdown. A kick by Malachi Stephenson was good for the extra point, and with 8:54 left in the first quarter, Red Bank had taken the 7-0 lead.
The Tigers’ first possession looked promising, but soon took a tragic turn. Malachi Trapp would return the kick to the DeKalb 29, then a Malachi run was good to the 42. A Briz Trapp keeper was good to the 44, then a Malachi run was stuffed for no gain. A Jon Hendrix carry gained just two yards, but after an offside call on the Lions and facing a fourth and one, DeKalb rolled the dice. The Malachi Trapp run was good to the Lion 49.
It was on the next play that the Tigers would lose one of its stars. A pass to Malachi was caught at the 46 sideline, where he was immediately hit. A snap could be heard and Malachi was down in extreme pain with a leg injury. Unlike local games where an ambulance is available on the sidelines, the Chattanooga area doesn’t have enough ambulances available to cover each and every game in the area. The game was delayed 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and take Trapp to Erlanger Medical Center.
With Marquez Chalfant out with a shoulder injury, once again DeKalb was down two of its star players. Nevertheless, the Tigers pushed on and showed some promise in the face of adversity. As play resumed, a pass to Jordan Parker was good to the Red Bank 36, then an Ari White run was good to the 30. A pass to Jon Hendrix was incomplete, and on another fourth down the Tigers went for it. The Trapp pass to Ryon Lyons was complete to the 19.
It was then that the drive would stall. Another pass to Lyons was good for just one yard, then another grazed his fingertips in the end zone. A Trapp keeper was good to the 12, and on a fourth and three play, the Tigers went for the points. Adrian Prater was on for the field goal attempt, but a high snap delayed the kick and ended with a block. It would turn out to be the Tigers’ last best chance to put points on the board.
Red Bank took over on their own 16, but the Tiger defense would hold them to a three and out, and would punt.
The Tigers would start their next drive from their own 35, but would only reach the 48, before being pushed back a yard and having to punt. This time Red Bank would put more points on the board.
Starting at their own 31, the Lions stuck to the ground, relying on the legs of Merritt and Featherstone. In seven plays they were at the DeKalb 25, where a Merritt run broke loose for a touchdown. The extra point was good, and with 7:53 left in the half, the Lions were up 14-0.
DeKalb would next start at their ow 17 and would push into Lion territory, but penalties would kill the drive. Trapp launched an air attack, with passes to Lyons, Parker, and Hendrix, reaching the 50 where a pass to Hendrix was good to the Red Bank 40. There, a keep was stuffed for no gain, then a false start backed them up five. Two incomplete passes and the Tigers were forced to punt.
The ball would roll dead at the Lion 11, where the Tiger defense would get another three and out.
The Lion punt would roll dead at the Red Bank 38, where the Tigers seemingly had good field position, but an intentional grounding call backed DeKalb up to the 45. An White carry would get the ball back to the 38, but on a fourth down play a Trapp pass went out of bounds. Red Bank would take a knee and the half would end.
The third quarter would not look good for the Tigers. White would return the kick to the DeKalb 40, but the Tigers would struggle for yards. A White run was good to the 44, then a pass to Ty Webb was good to the 46. White was handed the ball again, but was stuffed at the line. DeKalb would punt.
Red Bank would start at their own 18, but right away Featherstone broke loose for a big run to the DeKalb 20. A Merritt carry was good to the 19, then another was into the end zone. With the extra point, Red Bank was up 21-0 with 8:43 left in the third.
From then on, the Tigers could not move the ball. They would go three and out on their next possession, punting the ball with the Lions returning to the 38. Red Bank would go 11 plays to the DeKalb 20, where facing a fourth and seven, they set up for a field goal attempt. The kick was good and with 1:31 left in the third, the Lions commanded a 24-0 lead.
DeKalb would go three and out on their next possession, setting up another Lions score in the fourth quarter. Starting at their own 37, Red Bank would be backed up 10 after a holding call, but later Merritt would break loose for a big run, aided by a facemask penalty on the Tigers. From the Tiger 25, a false start backed Red Bank up five, then a Featherstone run would lose a yard. On a fourth and 16 play, a deep pass by Cayden Loveless to Turner Humphrey was caught in the end zone. The extra point was no good, but the Lions were up, 30-0 with 8:16 left to play.
DeKalb would have one more possession, but once again would go three and out. Red Bank would run the clock, eventually taking a knee and claiming the 30-0 shutout.
The Tigers end the season at 5-6 overall. Red Bank improved to 8-3 overall and will advance in the state playoffs next week hosting Macon County (10-1). Macon defeated Loudon 41-7 in their 1st round state playoff game. Upperman and Stone Memorial also advanced and will face each other next Friday night at Baxter. The Bees (11-0) eliminated East Ridge (4-7) 56-14 and Stone Memorial (7-4) defeated Hixson (7-4) 34-14.