The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team had high hopes going into last Friday night's match up against the Livingston Academy Wildcats. The Tigers had yet to get into the W column this season, and their first two games had been marred by devastating injuries.

The Tigers had lost Malachi Trapp and Marquez Chalfant during their season opener at Warren County, then QB Briz Trapp was taken off the field last week with an ankle injury as the Tigers hosted Smith County. Luckily, Briz Trapp's was not as bad as first thought, and he was back behind center to lead the team at the start of last Friday's game.

DeKalb won the toss and decided to defer until the second half in the game against the Wildcats. The kickoff return set Livingston up at their own 21, but the Tiger D-line stood fast. Taking to the air, Livingston went three and out, only gaining six yards before being forced to punt.

The Tigers would start their first drive from their own 20, and from there would get to work moving down the field. Runs by Ari White and a completion to Jon Hendrix had the ball down to the DeKalb 46, then a Trapp keeper coupled with a facemask call took the Tigers to the 30.

Later, a pass to Jordan Parker was good to the 17, then a couple more White carries were good to the nine. There, the drive would stall. Trapp would take a sack back at the 16, then another keep made it back to the 10. Facing a fourth down and nine, DeKalb went for the easy points. The Adrian Prater field goal was through the uprights and the Tigers were on the board, 3-0, with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats would return the kick to the 30, but a personal foul penalty set them up at their own 45. From there Livingston would begin their own drive down the field.

A Trey Coleman run was good to the DeKalb 48, then another to the 43. A false start backed them up to a first and 15 at the 48, where two pass plays fell incomplete but a pass interference call on the Tigers gave them new life at the 33.

A Brodey Coffee keeper would set the Wildcats up at the five, then another was down at the four. As the second quarter began, a Coleman carry was down at the one, then a Jaxon Boles run was in for the touchdown. A two-point pass attempt fell incomplete, but with 11:09 left in the half Livingston was up 6-3.

DeKalb would start their next possession at their own 20, and would find yards hard to come by. A run by Cecil Ketchum was good to the 22, then a pass to Jordan Parker fell incomplete. A pass to Ketchum was good to the 25, and facing fourth down the Tigers would punt.

The punt return would see Livingston's Daniel Bilbrey run it all the way back to the end zone, but a holding flag would nullify the points. The next play DeKalb would get some luck. A Coffee pass was intercepted by Austin Nicholson and run all the way back to the Wildcat one-yard line. A Trapp keeper was downed for a one-yard loss, but then the ball was handed to Ketchum who was in for six. The extra point was good, and just like that the Tigers were back on top, 10-6, with 8:35 left in the half.

The kick saw the Wildcats return to the 25, but a chop block call backed them up to their own 13. There, Livingston only reached the 18 before they would have to punt.

The Tigers seemed to be ready for another scoring drive, with the punt fair caught at their own 47. A White carry was good to the Wildcat 49, then a couple of passes to Parker went too high and wide. On a fourth and seven, the Tigers set up to punt, but an off sides call on Livingston gave DeKalb second thoughts. On a fourth and two, Ketchum was handed the ball and was downed at the 41 for a first down.

With a new set of downs, the Tigers gave the ball to White for a couple of carries down to the 36. On third down, a Trapp pass was intercepted by Bayden Storie and taken to 39.

With 3:46 left in the half, Livingston looked to get more points on the board. A Boles run was good to the 43, then a pass to Will Brown was good to the DeKalb 41. There, the drive would stall. A pass went out of bounds, then a Boles run was stuffed at the line. Coffee would then get sacked by Wil Farris at the 46, and on fourth down the Wildcats would punt.

The ball would roll out of the end zone and DeKalb would start at their own 20, but would not be able to move the ball even one yard. They would end up punting themselves and Livingston would then get back into the ballgame.

The ball rolled dead at the Wildcat 45, where with just 18 seconds left in the half, Livingston made a quick strike. A Coffee pass was complete to Bilbrey at the DeKalb four with nine seconds left. Another pass attempt fell dead with five seconds left, and the Wildcats decided to kick a field goal themselves. The kick was good at the clock ended the half and the score had narrowed, 10-9.

DeKalb would get the ball to start the third, and seemed to come out with new life. The return set up the Tigers at their own 41, On a third down play from the 43, Trapp connected a pass to Parker who took it down to the Wildcat 33. A pass to Parker on the next play was good to the 13, then a White run was good to the eight. Trapp then called his own number and ran it in for the touchdown. The extra point was good and with 9:48 left in the third DeKalb had pulled away 17-9.

The Wildcats would start at the 35 with the kick out of bounds, but they would not be able to do anything with it. They would reach the 45 before they would have to punt again and the Tigers would waste no time to seal the game shut.

Starting at the 21, a White run was good to the 26, then another was down at the 31, but a personal foul on the Wildcats set the Tigers up at the 46. It was then that Trapp again connected with Parker, who ran it in for the 54-yard touchdown. With the extra point, DeKalb was up 24-9 with 6:39 left in the third.

Things would get worse for Livingston. A fumble on their next drive was recovered by Jon Hendrix at the Wildcat 49. DeKalb would go three and out from there, and the Wildcats would start again, this time at their own 22.

Livingston would drive down to the Tiger 27 before a block in the back backed them up to the 37, then a Coffee pass was intercepted by Hendrix at the 17.

The Tigers would move down the field as the fourth quarter began, pushing the ball down to the 13. A Ketchum run was good to the nine, then a pass to Parker was good to the two. Trapp would keep the ball on the next play, into the end zone. The extra point put DeKalb up 31-9 with 5:09 left in the game.

The Wildcats would have one more chance at the ball, but DeKalb would hold on with Bryson Trapp claiming an interception which would essentially seal the game. The Tigers claimed the 31-9 victory.

The 1-2 Tigers travel to Watertown next Friday. Game time is at 7 pm.