If DeKalb County fans were worried, head football coach Steve Trapp and his team would have lingering effects from the emotional win against Warren County last week, it did not take long for the team to ease the fans' fears.
The Tigers played host to the Clay County Bulldogs Friday night. In a game pitting two non-district opponents, the Bulldogs stood in the way for the Tigers first home victory.
Tigers kick returner, Will Molander, took the opening kick-off to the Tigers own 42-yard line. The Tiger offense went onto the field and on the first play from scrimmage, running back, Dylan Freeney, took the hand off from quarterback Lucas Phillips and sprinted 50 yards to the Bulldog 8-yard line, giving the Tigers a first and goal.
On third and goal from the 3-yard line, wide receiver, Zach Taylor took the handoff from Lucas Phillips on an end around play and blasted into the end zone for the first score of the football game.
Taylor's point after try was no good and with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter, DeKalb led 6-0.
After waiting seven days, the Tigers' defense was itching to get onto the football field. Led by linebacker Rickey Spare and helped by an incomplete pass along with a fumble, the Tigers' defense forced the Bulldogs to punt after only three plays.
The Tigers had the ball on their own 25-yard line to start the drive. Needing a big play on third and 13, on the 22-yard line, senior wide receiver, Zach Thompson, did just that. Thompson was able to shake the defender on a seam route to make a breath-taking 23-yard catch.
Not to be out done, on the next play, quarterback L Phillips connected with wide receiver Molander for a 37-yard reception, taking the ball to the Bulldog 28-yard line. On first down, Phillips dropped back to pass but was flushed out of the pocket by the Bulldog defense.
Phillips, using some nifty moves, scrambled to his left and was able to gain 17 yards. A spot pass to Molander for no gain was helped by a personal foul penalty that gave the Tigers a first down, putting the football on the Bulldog's 6-yard line.
With 6:35 remaining in the first quarter, Freeney took the handoff from Phillips and plunged into the end zone for the Tigers' second touchdown. This time, Taylor's PAT was good, and the Tigers led 13-0.
The Bulldogs started their second drive with the ball on their own 21-yard line. Trying to get something going on offense, the Bulldogs ran two times picking up five yards. On third down and five yards to go for the first down, the Bulldogs connected on a pass play.
However, junior cornerback, Alex Hayes made an outstanding play, taking the ball away from the receiver on DeKalb's own 39-yard line. On the ensuing drive, DCHS offense drove the football down the field.
On a fourth down and three play, Coach Trapp, for the second week in a row, called a fake punt. Tiger punter Zach Taylor took the snap from long snapper, Cole Parsley, and found an open Will Molander for a gain of 29 yards and a Tiger first down.
Later in the drive, on first down at the Bulldogs' 15-yard line, quarterback Lucas Phillips found Tiger receiver Jacob Parsley for 12 yards.
First and goal on the 3-yard line, Lucas Phillips dropped back but yet again was flushed out of the pocket. Phillips was able to scramble long enough to find an opening to the end zone, scoring the Tigers' third touchdown of the night. Taylor's PAT was good and the Tigers led 20-0.
The Tigers' defense came back onto the field ready to hit somebody and that's exactly what they did. Led by Alex Hayes, two hard hits and a pass broken up by Puckett, the Bulldogs were faced with a third and 12. Tiger cornerback, Chris Chapman, made a key interception, ending the Bulldog drive.
Deep in their own territory, the Tiger offense was not able to move the ball and had to punt. After the punt, the bulldogs started the drive on the Tigers' 34-yard line.
On first down, senior defensive tackle, Jake Odom, made a big stop for no gain. However, on third down and four, the Tiger defense gave up a long run of 21 yards, bringing the ball to the Tigers' 3-yard line. With 7:05 remaining in the second quarter, the Bulldogs crossed the goal line for the first time in the game. The Bulldog PAT was good. DeKalb remained in the lead, 20-7.
Looking to regain some momentum, the next drive was an eight-play drive that ended with Taylor making a 33-yard field goal. This extended the Tiger lead to 23-7.
The Bulldogs took possession of the football and drove down to midfield but were unable to score before the half time buzzer went off. And so, at halftime, the Tigers led the Bulldogs, 23-7.
Clay County started the second half much like they ended the first, not able to get many first downs. The Tiger defense was all over the field making plays. The Bulldog offense, at times, was able to move the ball but penalties and some dropped passes worked against the team from Celina.
The Tigers did not allow the Bulldogs to score the rest of the game. However, the Tiger offense would cross the goal line once in each of the third and fourth quarters.
In the third quarter, Tigers running back Sebastian Phillips took a dive play and raced 34 yard to pay dirt, making the score 29-7, in favor of the Black and Gold. Taylor's PAT was no good.
DeKalb had only a couple of blemishes during the night, one of them being the interception thrown by Lucas Phillips with 2:13 remaining the third quarter. Despite the turnover, the Bulldogs were not able to capitalize on the blunder.
In the fourth quarter, kicker, Zach Taylor, redeemed himself by connecting on a long field goal for 43 yards with 9:54 remaining in the game.
The biggest play of the game came just 48 seconds later, as Tiger cornerback, Alex Hayes, caused a fumble that was recovered by OLB Cody Puckett, who then raced 30 yards down the sideline to the end zone for a Tiger defensive touchdown. Taylor's PAT was good and with 9:06 remaining, DeKalb led 39-7.
The Tigers' last score came with 3:34 left in the game, when running back, Sebastian Phillips, rumbled for a 3-yard touchdown. Taylor's PAT was good once again. The Bulldogs watched the final seconds tick off the clock as the Tigers notched their second win of the season.
After the game, the Review asked Coach Trapp his outlook on the game.
The Smithville Review: You had another big victory. Other than the short field drive that the Bulldogs scored on, the defense played really hard and stopped them from having a productive offensive game. What are your thoughts on the your Tiger defense?
Head Coach Steve Trapp: Ultimately, a better decision would have been to take the penalty and push them back instead of taking the interception inside the 10 or 15. It would have put them in a long yardage situation. We could have gotten a sack, a pick, or an incompletion. They would have punted. We probably would have gotten good field position, but I was confident in my offense to bring it out. It was a bad decision on my part. I put my defense in a bad position, but I have a lot of faith and confidence in them. Other than that, the short-field position, the defense stepped up to the challenge. We had to make a couple of adjustments defensively. Coach Bernie did a great job again at halftime to shut down what they hit us on in the first half. I think in the second half, they didn't have anything for us.
“Offensively,” Coach Trapp continued, “we started off with a bang; our first quarter we scored 20 points and then slowed down. They started doing some things differently so we had to make some adjustments. Ultimately, we put enough points on the board to win a lot of games, but it should be better.”