The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team finally got their season underway last Friday night, as they took on the Smith County Owls. The team was sidelined the previous Friday for what was supposed to be the Tigers’ season opener on the road against the Warren County Pioneers, but due to COVID in the Pioneers’ system, the game was postponed until their scheduled bye week, on October 8. Instead, the Tigers opened the season at home in front of a large group of fans.

DeKalb would receive to start the game, and right from the beginning things looked good for the Tigers. With a great return by Isaac Knowles, DeKalb was set up at their own 48. A run by Colby Barnes took the ball down to the Owls’ 31, then another was good to the 20. Knowles was handed the ball, taking to the 11, but a sack on quarterback Briz Trapp backed them up to the 21.

Facing a third and 11, Trapp threw to Silas Cross who took it to the two-yard-line. From there Barnes was handed the ball and walked it in for six. The extra point kick was no good, but the Tigers took the early lead 6-0, with 9:07 left in the first quarter.

The Owls would start their first possession at their own 29, and it looked as if the Tigers might dominate the whole game. A carry by Bryce Currie lost a yard, then a run by Kylan Johnson lost two more. A pass to Hayden Bush fell incomplete, and just like that Smith County had to punt. Knowles would field the kick and return it all the way for a touchdown. The extra point kick was good, and with 7:28 left in the first quarter the Tigers were up 13-0.

On the kickoff, the Owls would return to their own 25. There, a Johnson carry lost a yard, then a false start penalty backed Smith County up even more, but a Tigers’ off sides gave it right back. A Clayton Rigsby keeper was good to the 26, then a run only netted one yard. Facing a fourth and eight, again the Owls punted.

The punt would go out of bounds at the DeKalb 48, giving the Tigers good field position. A Nathaniel Crook run would take the ball to the Owls’ 49, then a keeper by Trapp was fumbled with Smith County falling on it.

It looked as if Smith County might have some momentum, but right from the start things went bad. A false start backed them up to the DeKalb 41, then a carry gained the penalty yards back. Next, a pass was complete to Currie, but a fumble ended with the Tigers falling on the ball. DeKalb got the ball back at their own 38.

DeKalb was set up with good field position, but sloppy play would doom the drive. The Tigers would run two plays and reach their own 43, then a pass to Knowles was stuffed in the backfield at the 38. On a fourth and 11 DeKalb went for it, but a bad snap ended with Trapp caught back at the 20.

The Owls were set in scoring position but just couldn’t’ get things going. A Johnson run was stuffed in the backfield at the 25, then a run by Peyton Hix only gained two yards as the first quarter came to a close. Another Hix run took the Owls back to the original line of scrimmage, and desperate for points Smith County attempted a field goal. The try was no good and DeKalb took over.

The Tigers wasted no time to get back on the board. A pass to Crook was good to the 31, then a pass to Knowles took the Tigers all the way down to the one yard line. It was then that the Tigers channeled the 1986 Chicago Bears when they gave Diego “The Refrigerator” Coronado the ball and pushed their way in for another touchdown. The extra point was good, and with 9:50 left in the half, DeKalb was up 20-0.

The Owls began their next drive at their own 29, then a Currie run, coupled with a facemask penalty, set Smith County up at the DeKalb 44. A holding penalty on the next play pushed them back to the 50, then a carry was good to the Tiger 47. A pass fell incomplete on the next play, then the Tigers intercepted a pass at the 48.

Things began to get sloppy for the Tigers from there. Pushing down to the Owl 25, a pass to Knowles in the end zone fell incomplete, then a false start pushed DeKalb back five. Later, a carry by Barnes was good for a touchdown, but a hold called the play back. On a fourth and 11, Trapp was caught in the backfield, turning the ball over at the 39.

The Owls would push down to the DeKalb 17, where their drive would stall. On a fourth and seven, a pass would fall incomplete, turning the ball over to the Tigers. DeKalb wouldn’t do much either as time ticked off the clock to end the first half.

Smith County got the ball to begin the second half, and once again sloppy play and penalties would plague both teams. Starting at the Owls’ 32, holding and a fumble resulted in Smith County losing yards on the drive.

The punt gave DeKalb the ball at their own 42, but another bad snap and a pass being swatted down at the line on fourth down gave the ball back to the owls at the 47.

This time the Owls would make them pay. Peyton Hix kept the ball three consecutive plays, moving the ball down to the Tiger 15. There, a Currie run was good for six. The extra point was good, and Smith County was on the board, 20-7 with 5:55 left in the third.

DeKalb would return the kickoff to their own 33, but a block in the back penalty put the ball back at the 19. From there that Tigers moved the ball down the field, but again, penalties would doom the drive. In eight plays the Tigers had moved to the Owls’ 38, then an illegal shift pushed them back five. It would be yardage the Tigers would be able to make up, and on a fourth and one from the 29, a Crook carry came up short.

The Owls had seemed to come to life and would once again put points on the board. As the game entered the fourth quarter, carries by Johnson and Currie would move the ball down to the DeKalb 23, where another Johnson run would be good for a touchdown. With the extra point the Owls cut into the Tigers’ lead, 20-14 with 9:51 left to play.

An un-sportsman-like penalty backed the Owls up on the kickoff, and Knowles would return the ball back to the Smith County 29. There, it looked as if sloppy play might again doom the drive. A bad snap resulted in Trapp falling on the ball back at the 45, then a pass on the numbers to Cross fell incomplete. A pass to John Ellis was good down to the 28, and facing a fourth and nine the Tigers went for it. The pass to Knowles was good in the end zone for the touchdown. A two-point attempted run by Barnes was stopped, but the Tigers were up 26-14 with 7:56 left to play.

Smith County returned the kickoff to their own 30, where the ball would seem to be stuck for the next 10 plays. The Owls would run three plays before Brady Hale intercepted the ball at the line. The Tigers then had two Crook runs stopped at the line, followed by a couple of incompletes. The Owls then ran three plays, before a Hix run took the ball to the 33. A pass fell incomplete on the next play, and DeKalb took over on downs.

It wouldn’t take long for the Tigers to ice the cake. A Barnes run was good to the six, then another was good for the touchdown. With the extra point, DeKalb took a 33-14 lead with just 3:32 left in the game.

And that’s where the score would stay. The Owls mounted an air campaign in the last minutes, but could not convert to points. The Tigers opened their season with a victory.

“A typical opening game,” Head Coach Steve Trapp told the Smithville Review. “You know, it’s your first game of the year and you want your guys to play clean. These guys played extremely hard, I give them credit for that, but we had too many mistakes. They played hard enough to overcome them.”

“Some of it was just sloppy play,” Trapp continued. “A lot of penalties. A lot of times you see that early on. We just have to keep getting better after this one.”

The Tigers now go on the road for their first region matchup of the year againts Macon County (2-0). Macon County has defeated East Robertson 34-12 and Westmoreland 14-6. The game is Friday night, September 3, at 7:00 p.m.