The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team traveled to Knoxville last Friday after advancing to the Division I, 4A playoffs. There, the Tigers faced a team they had never met before, on a field they had never played on before. The team would go up against the Fighting Irish of Knoxville Catholic as part of the BlueCross Bowl playoffs.
It was a brisk and cold evening as DeKalb took to the new, artificial turf of the Fighting Irish’s home ground. The Tigers would go into the postseason beat up with some key injuries, but had high hopes for the game. The team would be without senior Rickey Spare and five linemen would play both sides of the ball during the game.
The Irish would have the first possession of the game and right off the bat show their fast-paced style of play. Moving down the field on seven plays, Knoxville found themselves with a first and goal from the Tigers’ one-yard line. A run up the middle would finish the drive and give the Irish a lead they would not relinquish throughout the game. With the extra point, KC was up, 7-0 with 9:44 left in the first quarter.
DeKalb would go three-and-out on their first possession, netting only six yards to their own 31-yard line.
Once again, the Irish moved the ball with ease. Starting at their own 36, Knoxville went three plays to the Tigers’ seven-yard line. Going no-huddle, the next play saw the Irish toss it into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was good and KC was up 14-0 with 7:00 in the first quarter.
It looked as if DeKalb’s luck might change on their next possession. The Tigers returned the kickoff to their own 45 and would drive into Irish territory, but a couple of stuffed runs and a bad snap would force them to punt at the 32.
KC would start their next drive at the 25-yard line and quickly moved down field. It looked like the Tigers’ defense might get a stop on the drive with the Irish facing a fourth and one from the DeKalb 25. Electing to go for it, KC was able to convert, and two plays later they were in for another six points. With the PAT, the Irish commanded a 21-0 lead with 2:34 left in the first quarter.
DeKalb’s next possession was no better and they would not be able to advance out of their own end of the field. A sack, a couple of failed runs, and a delay of game would force the Tigers to punt from their own 25 as the first quarter came to an end.
The Fighting Irish started the second quarter and their next drive at their own 39-yard line. From there KC mounted a six-play drive that would end in yet another run for a touchdown. With the extra point the lead increased to 28-0.
The Tigers would go three-and-out on their next drive, unable to move even one yard on the possession with three incomplete passes.
Matthew Poss punted and KC took possession on the DeKalb 47-yard line. Again, the fast-tempo offense of Knoxville Catholic was too much for the decimated line of DeKalb to handle. KC went four plays ending with a twenty-yard run for a touchdown. The extra point snap was fumbled by the Irish, with the kicker attempting to salvage the play by throwing for a two-point conversion. The attempt failed, but the Irish lead was 34-0.
The kickoff saw DeKalb’s Devonta Milan return to the 33-yard line. Another run by Milan set the Tigers up at the 48, but there the drive stalled with three incomplete passes and again DeKalb would punt.
KC started at their own 42 and moved on a two-play drive to the Tigers’ two-yard line. The Tigers’ also suffered another serious blow in the drive when key playmaker Aaron Patterson was taken out of the game with an knee injury. The next play the Irish took to the air and found the end zone. The kick was good and KC’s score was 41-0.
DeKalb’s next drive would finally give fans hope, and it would all be on the running of Milan. Starting at their own 35, Milan was handed the ball on all four plays of the drive, ending with a 44-yard run for a touchdown. Poss’ kick was good and the Tigers were on the board 41-7 with 4:22 left in the half.
The celebration was short-lived however, with the Irish’s next possession quickly answering. Starting at the 26-yard line, a pass play would take KC down to DeKalb’s 13. The next play, a hand off up the middle, was in for six. The extra point was good and the Irish lead increased, 48-7 just before the end of the half.
The beginning of the second half saw some sloppy football on both sides of the field. DeKalb would get the first possession, starting at their own 25. Then, on a third and seven from the 28, the Irish intercepted a pass by Tigers’ QB Steven Jennings. A block-in-the-back penalty nullified a runback for a touchdown, but KC was set up at the 14-yard line.
Then, on a second and two from the DeKalb six-yard line, it was KC’s turn to fumble, with the ball recovered by the Tigers at the 12.
DeKalb would then drive five plays out to the 27-yard line where a lateral to Milan was fumbled, recovered by KC, and run back for a touchdown. With the extra point the Irish led, 55-7.
On the kickoff return, Milan took the ball to the DeKalb 45, and from there the Tigers would start to move the ball.  With big running plays by Milan, the Tigers moved down to the six-yard line. There, the Tigers faced a fourth and an inch at the six. With nothing to lose, the ball was handed to Luke Boss, who pushed down to the one-yard line, as the third quarter came to a close.
As the fourth quarter began, facing a first and goal from the one, Jennings tossed it up to Lane Ball for a touchdown. Poss’ extra point kick was tipped at the line, but the Tigers had six more with a score of 55-13 with 11:46 left in the game.
The kickoff resulted in KC returning the ball to midfield, but DeKalb would have a little luck left in the game. On a fourth-and-four play from the DeKalb 28, the Irish fumbled and the Tigers fell on the ball.
With the lopsided score, the clock continued to run in the fourth quarter, and time was not on DeKalb’s side. The Tigers drove down to the KC 16-yard line where time and the season ran out for the 2013 Tigers. The final score was 55-13.
"We knew Knox Catholic was a good team," Coach Steve Trapp told the Review after the game. "We just got beat up at the wrong time of the season with injuries. We came into tonight with about 14 or 15 kids ready and able to play. We started the year having only one lineman playing both ways, tonight we had all five. It makes a big difference in a game, especially in the fast tempo that they had."
"We had six or seven guys out," Trapp continued "We just didn’t perform very well. We had some young guys in there. They had to play some and those guys fought for us, but we got the short end of the stick. We’ll regroup. We’ll take a few weeks off, and starting in January we’ll start preparing for next season."
With such a young team and only three experienced seniors playing throughout the year many fans believe the 2013 Tigers exceeded expectations for the year. But, Coach Trapp said he feels the opposite, and that injuries hurt the team’s potential. "I don’t think we exceeded expectations," Trapp said. "Our number one thing is, we want to represent the district. We want to win the district and that’s what we shoot for each and every year. As far as I’m concerned we didn’t meet expectations. A lot of people thought we would be way down, but we started the season very well. We got to 6-2 and the injuries started getting on us a little bit."
"Losing Lance [Ball] really hurt, and losing Spare on top of that really hurt. That was one area of our football team we couldn’t have injuries, our linebacking core. We had to move D-linemen to linebackers. Just a lot of things happened. Our guys played hard, but like I said, we got the short end of the stick right here at the end of the stretch."
Trapp continued, "I just want to say thanks to DeKalb County and the community for all the support that they give us, and the support they give these young men. We’ll start back this January getting ready for next season, and try to make it even more exciting."
The DeKalb County Tigers end the 2013 season at 6-5.