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Christian sets up to receive a pass. - photo by Photo by Reed Vanderpool

 

For the second consecutive week the DeKalb County Tigers relied on their defense late in the game to repel a fourth quarter rally to secure a 27-25 win over the visiting Cumberland County Jets.

 

The Tigers scored on their opening possession with a nine-play 50-yard drive that was capped with a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steven Jennings to A.J. Mooneyham with 9:20 remaining in the first quarter. Matthew Poss’ kick was good giving the Tigers an early 7-0 lead. Adding to their lead, Steven Jennings connected with Matthew Poss on an 85-yard catch and run score. With the good PAT at the 3:51 mark of the first quarter by Matthew Poss DeKalb expanded their lead to 14-0 that stood until the second-half kickoff.

 

Cumberland’s Hayden Woody cut the Tigers’ lead in half with a 93-yard kickoff return that stunned the home crowd. The PAT by the Jets’ Mason Hall was good, putting the score at 14-7. With just 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Jets’ Tyler Howard hit pay dirt on a three-yard touchdown run. With a momentum-changing play, the PAT by Mason Hall was blocked by the Tigers’ A.J. Mooneyham. After being held out of the end zone for two quarters, the Tigers finally crossed the goal line when A.J. Mooneyham scored on a seven-yard run. The PAT by Matthew Poss was good, and with 7:32 remaining the Tigers led 21-13.

 

On their ensuing possession, Cumberland’s Dylan Wyatt scored on a 15-yard touchdown with just 4:57 remaining. The two-point conversion attempt by the Jets failed when Tiger linebacker Jesse Smith made a big tackle on the two-yard line to keep DeKalb ahead 21-19.

 

Then, with just 58 seconds remaining in the game, the Tigers seemed to take complete control when A.J. Mooneyham scored his third touchdown of the night with a 10-yard run. The PAT by Matthew Poss was no good, but the Tigers still led 27-19.

 

After a sack resulting in a loss of 15 yards by sophomore Jesse Smith, the Jets scored on a 74-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds remaining in the game to pull within two points of the Tigers.

 

With the game on the line, a two-point conversion attempt by Cumberland County fell short as a gang of Tigers tackled the ball-carrier on the two-yard line sending the visitors home with the loss.

 

After the Jets’ starting quarterback Tyler Howard was injured with just nine seconds remaining in the contest, DeKalb’s defense gave up a huge 74- yard touchdown pass by the back-up quarterback to Seth Randell. However, the potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt was no good when a host of Tigers stopped the ball carrier short of the goal line, securing the 27-25 win for DeKalb.

 

The 3-1 Tigers will host Smith County Friday night in a crucial district match up that could set the tone for the rest of the season for both teams. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.

 

Tiger Pride!