The DeKalb County Tigers opened a can of Raid on the Upperman Bees Friday night in Smithville, claiming second place in the region with a 14-7 win on Senior Night.

In a prolonged defensive struggle, DeKalb and Upperman fought the scoreless first quarter out trading the ball near mid field, with neither team approaching the end zone.

The tigers finally managed to get on the scoreboard with 11 seconds left in the first half when a charge to the goal line culminated in a one yard keeper by Quarterback Tyler Cantrell. A good kick from Matthew Poss put DeKalb up 7-0 at halftime.

Upperman’s Cole Pierce broke a 45-yard touchdown run with 6:06 on the clock in the third. A good EP kick by Allen Fields tied the score at 7-7.

DeKalb put the go-ahead touchdown across with just under four minutes left in the game. The Tigers found themselves backed up to their own five-yard line when Cantrell found Poss on a 95-yard touchdown pass. Poss contributed another good EP kick, and the Tigers held on to a 14-7 lead until the final buzzer.

The Tigers, now 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in district play, will travel to Cannon County next week to face the Lions, 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Region, in a regional match up this Friday at 7 p.m.

The win against Upperman clinched second place in the region for DeKalb, and the Tigers have earned a home field advantage for the first round of the state play-offs next week. Undefeated Sequatchie County, at first place in the region, will face third-place Upperman this Friday night.

Fourth-place York Institute, 4-6 overall and 3-3 in district play; fifth place Smith County, 2-3 in the region and 4-5 overall; sixth-place Grundy county, at 2-4 in region play and 2-9 overall; and seventh-place Cannon County round out the region.