The Yellow Jackets left VanHooser Stadium black and blue Friday night as the Tigers took them out to the woodshed and handed them a 49-12 whipping to improve to 2-3 on the season as they get ready to play host to Cannon County this Friday for homecoming.
For freshman running back Colby Barnes it was like a step back in time as he scored three touchdowns in his first taste of high school gridiron action Friday evening, his performance reminiscent of his eighth grade season last year when he led his DeKalb Middle School Saints to an undefeated season and region title. That same year he rushed for 23 touchdowns and 1,353 yards. This year an injury kept him off the field until this past Friday night.
Along with Barnes’ phenomenal debut, junior quarterback Axel Aldino had a break-out game, firing three touchdown passes in the blow out of Grundy County.
The win; however, wasn’t cover to cover as the visitors drew first blood, scoring on a three-yard Koby Michael run to give them the early advantage. That would be the last time they would lead as the Tigers struck back, capping a 61-yard drive with a seven-yard Barnes dash at the 8:53 mark of the first.
Nathaniel Crook, who has been bearing most of the workload this season, accounted for the second DeKalb score of the night when he found pay dirt from eight yards out to make it 14-6.
Barnes would score his second touchdown with two minutes left in the half when he dashed to daylight from the Grundy County 42-yard-line. Not to be outdone, Axel Aldino got his first score of the game when hooked up on a pass to Alan Munoz from 11 yards out just before half to give the Tigers a comfortable 28-6 advantage at the half.
Grundy County came out in the second half and drained much of the third quarter clock on a 74-yard drive that culminated with a 16-yard TD reception by Evan Nunley of a Jacob Dixon pass. However, that would be as close as the Jackets would get an Aldino to Desmond Nokes 61-yard bomb put the game out of reach with a minute left in the third. Barnes would go on to pick up his touchdown hat trick when he went in from the five at the 7:27 mark of the fourth. An Aldino 16-yard hook up to Isaac Knowles completed the scoring.
The win was the fifth straight win over the Yellow Jackets since the Tigers renewed the rivalry back in 2015.
With the win, the Tigers look to get revenge from last year’s 19-7 loss at Woodbury – a loss that technically never happened as the Cannon County Lions were forced to vacate all of last year’s wins because they used an ineligible player. Friday night is homecoming at DeKalb High with kickoff at 7 p.m. and special festivities all evening.
