Keeping it close early in the first half Friday night, the Tigers fell 26-10 in the season opener due largely to the skills of Pioneer quarterback Isaiah Grayson.
“They beat us up front offensively,” said DeKalb Tigers Head Coach Steve Trapp. “That and number 11 (Grayson).”
Grayson rushed for a game-high 101 yards and two TDs, including a 27-yarder where he took what looked like a broken play and maneuverd his way to the endzone.
“We didn’t do very well and suffered an injury with an OL breaking an arm early on,” Trapp said. “We gave them an extra possession and didn’t execute. I thought we did well in the second half by holding them to the points they had already scored.”
While the Tigers passing game worked well during last week’s Clay County scrimmage, quarterback Tyler Cantrell was pressed hard by the Pioneer defense and suffered six sacks and three interceptions on Friday, denying DeKalb a chance to recover as they had in earlier game play.
“He’s (Cantrell) a good pocket passer so we thought we better get to him,” WCHS Head Coach Tom Moore told the Southern Standard in a post-game interview. “Coach (Paul) Martin called all our defensive plays tonight and he likes to blitz. We blitzed a lot.”
DeKalb County scored on its first two possessions, while Warren County scored touchdowns on four of its five first-half possessions. Neither team scored in the second half.
The Tigers battled back after an early Warren County 6-0 lead that ate up the game clock by kicking a field goal for a 6-3 score. Putting DeKalb back in a larger deficit, the Pioneers had another successful drive for the 12-3 lead but missed both PATs.
A subsequent DeKalb possession found the Tigers on the two-yard line after Cantrell completed a pass and Bradley Miller found the endzone for six on the next down with a good PAT to close the gap to 12-10. It would turn out to be the Tigers’ final score.
Warren County dominated possession, running 58 offensive plays to DeKalb County’s 37. The Tigers finished with negative rushing yardage as seven of their 12 rushing plays lost yards and were not able to capitalize off 15 penalties for 110 yards the Pioneers gifted.
DeKalb had nine penalties for 50 yards.
A highlight for the Tigers was found on kickoff returns of 26 and 20 yards.
The Tigers take another road trip Friday, heading to Upperman. Game time is 7 p.m.

They beat us up front offensively. That and number 11. ~Coach Steve Trapp