It was the best of times and the worst of times for the DeKalb County Tigers as they suffered through a nightmarish first half only to have a dream second half that fell just short of a comeback for the ages, losing the Border Battle to Warren County 35-21 in McMinnville Friday night.

For the Tigers, the first half was one to forget as they turned the ball over five times in the opening half, including four picks from the normally accurate arm of starting quarterback Axel Aldino and a fumble by the junior signal caller that was returned for a touchdown by the Pioneers. Meanwhile their hosts weren’t much better controlling the ball as Warren County turned the ball over four times in the first half, the two teams setting a record in futility with a combined nine first half miscues which is a record for the 15-game series which the Pioneers now lead 8-7 with their win Friday night.

The Tigers began digging their early hole after Warren County runningback Xander Lee made them pay for an interception with a 9-yard touchdown run just five minutes into the game. The Pioneers extended their lead midway through the second quarter when an Aldino fumble was scooped up by Warren County’s La’cedrick Cox who ran 55 yards to pay dirt. Cox had two picks on the night along with the scoop and score.

The half mercifully came to an end after another Aldino interception left the Pioneers with a short field on the DeKalb 15. Warren County capitalized on the miscue when C.J. Taylor danced into the endzone from the three, making it 21-0 as the teams went to the locker room.

The Tigers emerged from the half a new team as they were able to drive the field even after Aldino went down to injury. Backup quarterback Colter Kilgore commanded the 82-yard drive which ended with an 8-yard-yard pass to Isaac Knowles with 6:32 left in the third.

Aldino returned to the game in the fourth and led the Tigers on another scoring drive, culminating when he dashed into the endzone from five yards out making the score 21-14 with 8:57 left in the game. Aldino led all Tiger rushers, toting the pigskin 22 times for 105 yards. He would score his second touchdown with 3:08 remaining with quarterback keeper from the three to knot the game at 21.

However, the Warren County offense, which had been in a malaise all night, benefiting from DeKalb mistakes, came to life down the stretch thanks to their quarterback, C.J. Taylor who put his team on his shoulders, mounting a go-ahead drive with just over a minute remaining. Taylor led all rushers, running the back 17 times for 193 yards.

Down 28-21 with just over 30 seconds remaining, the Tigers were dealt another blow when Aldino was dinged for the second time on the night and had to go out of the game. With no time outs remaining and the ball on the Pioneer 36, the Tigers opted for a gadget play which the Pioneers had scouted out. Warren County’s Eli Buchanan stepped in front of the pass and took it 70 yards to the house to ice the final score 35-21. It was his third pick of the night.

The loss comes despite the fact the Tigers outgained the Pioneers 309 to 162 and that the Pioneers had five unsportsmanlike penalties in the second half alone.

As for the impact, the game was not a district battle but through the history of the rivalry dating back 15 years, the Tigers have only had one winning season after dropping their opener against Warren County. However, last year was an exception to the rule as the Tigers finished with a 3-7 record despite beating the Pioneers 19-14 to begin the season, marking the only time they had beaten Warren County and not finished with a winning record.

The Tigers travel to Upperman this week to take on the Bees. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Upperman beat Cookeville Saturday night 21-20. The Tigers lost to Upperman last season 43-0.