It was a game that DeKalb needed to win, and it was one that they should have won. It would turn out to be a close match as the Tigers traveled to Stone Memorial last Friday. Games have been close over the past few years, but it would be mistakes both mental and physical that would cost DeKalb this season.

The Tigers would get the ball to start the game, with Ryon Lyons returning the kickoff to the DeKalb 39. From there, the Tigers wouldn’t move much, reaching only the 47 where they would roll the dice with QB Briz Trapp running a keeper on a fourth and two. He would come up one-yard short.

The Panthers wouldn’t do much better. They would get a first down at the 32, but there their drive would stall. On a fourth and six play at the 28 a pass play fell incomplete and the Tigers took over on downs.

This drive DeKalb would finally get on the board. A Trapp keeper was good to the 33, then another was down at the 40. A pass to Marquez Chalfant took the ball to the Stone 27, then a pair of keepers were good to the 15. Another pass to Lyons was good to the 11, but there the drive would stall. A pass to Malachi Trapp fell short, then another was dropped. With a fourth and six from the 11, the Tigers went for the points. The Adrian Prater was up and through. The Tigers took the 3-0 lead with 4:19 left in the first.

The Panthers would return the kick to their own 34, where they would mount a scoring drive of their own. Runs by Brighton Oquendo and receptions by Houston Woody took the ball to the DeKalb 44. There, Nick Osmun keepers drove to the 25, then runs by Oquendo were down to the 22. The next play, a Osmun pass to Jayden Eldridge was in for six. An extra point attempt was blocked, but with 13 seconds left in the first quarter, the Panthers had taken the 6-3 lead.

The lead wouldn’t last long however. On the kick, Lyons returned for an 80-yard touchdown as the clock ticked to zero in the first. Prater’s extra point was good, and just like that DeKalb was back on top, 10-6.

The Tigers’ defense stepped up on Stone’s next possession, holding the Panthers to a three and out. The punt would give DeKalb the ball at their own 41, but the Tigers found yards hard to come by as well. Malachi Trapp would run to the 39, then QB Briz Trapp would lose his footing on the next play for a nine-yard loss. On third and 21, a pass to Chalfant was broken up and the Tigers had to punt.

The Panthers would start at their own 45, and this time would they would move down field. A second down run by Blayten Flowers was good to the DeKalb 46, then a keeper was down at the 41. Another Oquendo was stuffed at the line, then a pass Chris Hannah was caught for a 41-yard touchdown. With the extra point and with 6:47 left in the half, the Panthers were up 13-10.

Both teams would have possessions before the end of the half, but the score would remain 13-10.

Stone Memorial would get the ball to start the second half and it wouldn’t take long to add more points on the board. Starting at their own 32, they would go three plays reaching the DeKalb 46, where Oquendo would break away for a touchdown run. With the extra point, the Panthers commanded a 20-10 lead with 10:21 left in the third.

The Tigers would start their first possession of the half from their own 21, where a sack would back them up to the 17. A Malachi Trapp run netted just two yards, then a pass to Lyons was complete down to the 47. A couple of passes to Jon Hendrix fell incomplete, then a sack back at the 48 had the Tigers facing a fourth and 11.

The punt would roll dead at the four-yard line, where the Tigers would get a bit of luck. A Houston Woody run was good for only one yard, then a pass to Eldridge was good for a first down at the 23. There, a pass play resulted in a three-yard loss, then a fumble ended with DeKalb recovering at the 24.

The Tigers would capitalize on the turnover quickly. A pass to Lyons was good to the 5, then a keeper was down at the three. An Ari White run was stopped at the one, then Briz Trapp called his own number, running it in for the touchdown. With Prater’s extra point, DeKalb had cut the lead, 2017, with 3:25 left in the third.

It had suddenly become an offensive game and Stone would make the next strike. Starting at their own 35, the Panthers would reach the 48 where the drive seemed to stall. Facing a fourth and inches a Oquendo run was down to the 10, and with a facemask call the ball was put at the five. There, another Oquendo was good for three more then a Osmun keep was into the endzone. The extra point was good and with 37 seconds left in the third, the Panthers were up 27-17.

The Tigers would start their next drive at their own 40, and as the fourth quarter began, they worked to once again cut the Stone lead. A pass to Malachi Trapp was good to the 49, and later a White run was good to the Stone 47. Briz Trapp connected with Malachi again to the 32, then once more for the touchdown. The extra point cut Stone’s lead 27-24 with 10:25 left to play.

It looked like DeKalb had the Panthers on the ropes and the defense stepped up on the next drive. Starting at their own 30, a sack backed the Panthers up two yards, then a false start pushed them five more. Another sack had the Panthers facing a fourth and 23 at the 18, and they would punt.

DeKalb would get the ball at their own 45 but would only gain two yards before they themselves had to punt. The clock was now beginning to become an enemy for the Tigers with only 6:33 left in the game.

The Panthers were backed up to their own 11, but an illegal block flag backed them up to the six. They would reach the 12, before a keeper broke lose for a fresh set of downs at the 48. They would continue to push down to the DeKalb 39, before the defense to bring them to a halt. On a fourth and 13, from the 45, they would punt with 1:29 left on the clock.

The Tigers would move the ball but time was not on their side. Starting at their own five, a pass to White was good to the 20, where Trapp would later take a sack back at the 10. A pass to Jordan Parker was incomplete, but an interference call gave DeKalb a third and four from the 25. There, a pass to Malachi Trapp was good to the 49, and might have gained more yards for an unsportsmanlike flag on the Panthers, but DeKalb was also caught retaliating. The penalties offset.

With only 37 second left to play, a pass to Hendrix was good to the 40, then a pass to Malachi went over his head. On a third and 10 play, a pass to Parker was caught and down at the 24, where with just 17 seconds left the Tigers struggled to spike the ball. DeKalb’s last time out was used with just three seconds left on the clock. Prater was called out on the field for a tough field goal attempt. The kick was up but short of the goal post. The Panthers hung on for the 27-24 win.