The Tigers traveled to Livingston Academy Friday, dropping a tough game 29-18 to the Wildcats.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said DeKalb County Head Football Coach Steve Trapp. “We’ve been telling the guys all week the type of football game we wanted and needed this to be. It was a little different MO offensively for us than we’re typically known for, so our game plan here was to get a little bit more of the run game going and the first half went exactly as we wanted it to go.”
DeKalb’s (2-5) opening drive spanned 74 yards and concluded with a TD run by Jesse Smith and a good PAT by Andrew Fuson to give the Tigers a 7-0 early lead with 9:12 left on the clock in the first quarter.
The Tiger defense stepped up, stopping Livingston on a third-and-four on the 8-yard line with some textbook tackles by Josh May, but the Wildcats closed the gap after Tee Beaty put up a 27-yard field goal on fourth down at 6:08 to make it 7-3.
A defensive game ensued for the next four possessions, until DeKalb got within field-goal range with 5:28 left in the second quarter where Fuson extended the Tiger lead 10-3 with a 26-yard field goal.
On the ensuing Tiger kickoff, Wildcat Will Sims surged back to the Tiger 30-yard line as Fuson saved a touchdown with a timely tackle.
Livingston took advantage of the excellent field position with a Wade Neely three-yard TD run and a good PAT tied the game 10-10 with 2:41 left in the half.
After the Tigers had to punt it away on a long fourth-and-21, Wildcat QB Will McDonald connected with Mitchell Ayers for a 45-yard gain, setting up another Neely TD run with 31 seconds left in the half, giving Livingston a 16-10 lead at the break after a failed PAT attempt.
“Like I told the guys after the game, we were on the verge of this being exactly what we wanted - a four-quarter football game,” Trapp said.  “Another thing we told them all week who’s going to make the four plays and ultimately, they did and we didn’t and that’s the difference. Their (Wildcats) third-and-15 conversion their fourth-and-5 conversion and we drop a first down on fourth-and-3, we drop a touchdown. Ultimately, they make the four plays we didn’t and those four plays made a difference on the scoreboard.”
Livingston came back strong in the third quarter, after Ayers added six points with a 3-yard TD run followed by a good PAT with 6:13 left to play in the quarter, stretching their lead to 23-10.
The Wildcats turned two more drives into field goals, further distancing themselves in the second half 29-10 with 6:45 left to play.
The Tigers made the final tally a little more tolerable after Tyler Cantrell connected with Braxton Linder for a 27-yard touchdown pass and Cantrell’s keeper on the conversion made the final score 29-18 as time ran out.
“There were a lot of things that I liked that I saw from my football team tonight,” Trapp said. “They showed they’re still fighting with us, they’re still grinding with us even though we’ve only won two football games. We’ve got a chance if we continue to grow and build and play physical and clean up those four plays in a football game we can make some noise in the region or the district but we’ve got to keep grinding.”
“I definitely think we got their attention. I don’t think they were expecting that. Like I said there is nothing morally good about a loss. I never say there were moral victories or anything like that but our guys did show some things that we did like and we’re going to build off those and keep grinding.”
DeKalb County will play host to Smith County (4-2) Friday.
Game time is at 7 p.m.

There were a lot of things that I liked that I saw from my football team tonight.~Coach Steve Trapp