After getting a 3-0 start on the 2013 season, the DeKalb County Tigers suffered their first defeat, falling to the White County Warriors, a team the Tigers beat last year, 58-7. While the game was not a district loss, it may have served as a wakeup call to the Tigers, showing that they are still a young and inexperienced team that will have to fight for every win.
The Warriors threw the running game at the Tigers from the start, passing the ball only four times for 39 yards in the entire game. But, it was White County taking advantage of DeKalb miscues that was the real story. The Tigers turned the ball over six times with three fumbles and three interceptions.
White County took the ball first, taking the DeKalb kickoff to their own 34-yard line. From there the Warriors’ Blake Lynn, River Boruff, and Perry Clayton ran the ball, taking it all the way down to the Tigers’ two-yard line. With a first and goal from the two, it looked as if DeKalb might catch a break as Clayton fumbled the ball, but the Warriors were able to recover. The next play, Boruff was in for a touchdown. With the extra point, the Warriors struck first, 7-0.
The Tigers’ first possession started from their own 20, but two plays later a fumble by Tigers’ quarterback Steven Jennings coughed the ball up on the DeKalb 35. The Warriors would take advantage with Clayton running it in for a TD with 4:30 left in the first quarter. The Warriors were up, 14-0.
DeKalb would strike back however, after taking possession of the kickoff at their own 32. Jennings would throw to Dustin Warner, who would taking it in for six. With Tigers’ kicker Matthew Poss’ extra point good, DeKalb had closed the gap, 14-7.
The Warriors’ next possession would start at their own 20-yard line, and it looked as if they might go three-and-out, but facing a third and one from their own 29, White County QB Jake Young ran a keeper down to the Tigers’ 26. The next play, Lynn would be handed the ball and he would be in for a touchdown. The Warriors would take a 21-7 lead.
The ensuing kickoff only added to the Tigers’ woes. As DeKalb’s Divonta Milan returned the kick, he fumbled on the DeKalb 25. White County recovered, and once again it looked as if the Warriors would make them pay. On the next play, White County’s Lynn would fumble, but the Warriors’ Boruff would recover. The Warriors would continue their drive, taking it down to the Tigers’ 11-yard line, but once again Lynn would fumble and this time the Tigers  would fall on it.
The Tigers would drive down the field as the first quarter ended, taking the ball to their own 27. At the beginning of the second quarter, facing a third and nine, Jennings threw an interception to Skylar Delaney, who took it to the DeKalb 41. White County would try to cash in on the turnover and drive down to DeKalb’s 32. From there, facing a fourth and one, the ball was handed to Boruff, who took it in to the end zone. With the PAT no good, White County’s lead increased to 27-7.
Things only got worse for the Tigers. On their next possession, a bobbled snap led to a fumble by Jennings with the Warriors recovering and taking it in for a TD. A two-point conversion failed, but the Warriors lead was 33-7 with 9:29 in the second quarter.
The Tigers’ next possession had them driving to midfield, but on a second and 15 from the 47, Jenning threw another interception. The DeKalb defense would hold however, and DeKalb’s next drive would take them down to the Warriors’ 19-yard line. Facing a fourth and eleven, Jennings would toss it up to Aaron Patterson in the end zone, but the pass was incomplete and the Warriors took over on downs.
As the second half began, the Tigers’ next drive would put points on the board. Starting from their own 34, DeKalb would drive down to the Warriors’ two-yard line. There, Jennings would run it in on a keeper. The extra point put the score at Warriors 33, DeKalb 14 with 7:20 in the third quarter.
It looked as if the Tigers might be getting back into the game, but as the Warriors took the ball on their next possession, they delivered the deathblow to the game. With White County returning the kickoff to the 28-yard line, the Warriors’ Lynn ran the ball all the way in for a touchdown. With the extra point no good, the Warriors were up, 39-14 with 6:58 in the third quarter.
DeKalb’s next drive would take them to White County’s 36, but there, facing a fourth and 17, Jennings would get his third interception of the night. As the fourth quarter began, the Warriors would drive down to the DeKalb 31. There, a fumble was recovered by Dustin Warner. The Tigers could not take advantage of the turnover, and facing a fourth and two from the White County eight-yard line, Jennings was sacked.
The Tigers’ D would hold the Warriors and force a punt, and DeKalb’s next possession would see more points, but it was too little, too late. The Tigers would drive down to White County’s four-yard line, where Milan would run it in for six. The extra point put the score at 39-21 Warriors with 2:25 left in the game.
On the kickoff, DeKalb would attempt an on-side kick, but the Warriors would recover at the White County 42. The Warriors would add to their total with only seconds left in the game. The Warriors would hand the ball to Josh Rowan, who would run it in for a TD with only 12 seconds left in the game. The extra point gave the game its final score, Warriors 46, Tigers 21.
"We were not a very inspired football team," Coach Steve Trapp told the Review. "A lot of credit goes to White County. They came down here and were very physical. They took it to us up front, didn’t do a whole lot of flashy things on offense and just run it right at us. We didn’t respond very well. It’s just like a boxing match, sometimes you’re going to get hit on the chin and you’re either going to fall out or you’re going to respond. We didn’t respond. We’ll make sure we address all that in practice next week and I guarantee you’ll see better football team next week."
When asked about how White County came out played smash-mouth football, running nearly every down, Coach Trapp said that was expected. "We knew that coming in. The last two weeks they’ve thrown for 29 yards. So, we knew what we were going to get, and like we told the guys, what we prepared for and what they gave us was a little simpler than what we prepared for. They had a game plan to control the clock and keep our offense off the field and they worked it perfectly."
"When you only run about 10 or 12 plays in the first half, and you have five turnovers, things mount up pretty quick. The second half, I told them, ‘They can’t score and we have to score two times each quarter,’ and we only gave up one score and it was on a big play. We didn’t tackle very well, so we’ve got a lot of work to do."
"District games are more important paper wise, but anytime we get the opportunity to come out here and play, they’re all important. I guarantee our guys are going to be a lot more fired-up next week, not because it’s homecoming; not because it’s Cannon County, but we’ve got to show Tiger Pride. The "R" in Tiger Pride is for resilience and we’ve got to bounce back and that’s what we’ll do."