The DeKalb County High School Tigers traveled to Watertown last Saturday to participate in the Football Jamboree. There, the team played Watertown in a literal game of two halves.
With the first half dedicated to the junior varsity, it was the DeKalb Tigers that would strike first. On a Watertown punt, Troy Bain would run it in from the 30 for a touchdown. That, with a successful extra point, gave the black and gold Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Watertown would come back on their next possession, driving to DeKalb’s 45, where they took a pass in for a touchdown, tying the game.
With Watertown having the ball at the beginning of the second quarter, DeKalb’s Jorge Blanco intercepted on the Watertown 35. The next play, DeKalb’s Jayce Allen would fumble, giving Watertown the ball on their own 41. Watertown would then drive down to the 25, where a fumble was recovered by DeKalb’s Peyton Young. The next play, Jayce Allen redeemed his earlier fumble by taking it all the way in for a touchdown and giving the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
On Watertown’s next possession, the Purple Tigers drove the ball down to the 50-yard line where DeKalb’s Ryan Lafever got an interception. DeKalb would push on to the eight yard line, where they would have to settle for a field goal attempt. The kick went wide left, leaving the score 14-7 DeKalb.
Watertown would mount a drive late in the half, but Matthew Poss would get an interception on DeKalb’s 45 as the buzzer rang.
For the second half of the game the teams’ starters took to the field and the score was reset. DeKalb started with a long drive that ended with Tigers’ QB Steven Jennings throwing a touchdown pass to Lane Ball, giving them a 7-0 lead.
After a drive by Watertown, Dustin Warner came away with an interception on the 20-yard line. The opportunity was squandered however, with DeKalb’s offense having to punt on downs.
The following possession by Watertown stalled, with a punt giving the ball back to DeKalb. DeKalb once again stalled on their own 36 and had to punt back to the Purple Tigers. Watertown’s next drive took them down to the 16-yard line before the first quarter came to an end. At the beginning of the second quarter, Watertown resumed their drive, with the Purple Tigers’ QB running it in for a TD and tying the game 7-7.
On DeKalb’s next possession, a long drive coupled with a horse collar penalty by Watertown, took the Black and Gold Tigers down to the 20. There, Luke Boss powered his way in for a TD in a hard hitting run that was reminiscent of Eddie George. The following extra point put DeKalb up, 14-7.
Watertown’s next drive took them to the 35-yard line, but they had to punt on downs.
On DeKalb’s next possession, Dustin Warner took the ball from the 25 in for a TD, but with the extra point attempt no good, DeKalb’s lead was 20-7.
DeKalb’s next possession saw Divonta Milan take it in from the 40 for a touchdown, giving DeKalb a 27-7 lead.
With 30 seconds left on the clock, Watertown drove down the field, and with a touchdown pass, but missed extra point, put the score at 27-13 where the game ended.
After the game, Tigers Head Coach Steve Trapp was asked how he thought his JV team looked in this final scrimmage before the beginning of the regular season. "I was really glad that we got to get two full quarters for those young guys," Trapp told the Review. "There were a lot of mistakes out there, a lot of misalignments and things like that, but the effort was great. We tell our guys all the time we shouldn’t have to coach their efforts. I’m pleased to see that out of everybody. They hung on and took care of business."
As for the Tigers’ starters, Coach Trapp said he was pleased with the energy on the field. "In the second half, again, we’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up. But overall, I’m pleased with our energy and pleased with our effort. We’ve just got to clean up our execution a little bit."
When asked about his young team and the freshmen that are stepping up and filling some important positions, Coach Trapp said he is pleased with the whole team. "I feel good about all of our guys. Those guys played in the second half. Steven missed some reads and was slow on a couple of things, but that’s going to come with time. He’s going to keep working and we’re going to keep developing him.
"Then, Castorena is flying over the field on defense and made a big hit. And then Poss is punting and kicking. I know he missed a field goal and an extra point there, but we’ve got to rely on those guys and we’ve got a lot of other young guys that’s going to provide depth.
"It’s not like our whole team is young. We’ve got a good mixture of leadership at the top with some young guys mixed in and I think it bodes well for this year and years to come."
When asked about the Tigers’ impressive running game, Coach Trapp said he likes the running and the protection from the line. "Luke Boss, that run he made to score right there, that’s what we like to see. And Divonta, we’ve been waiting on a play like that for a long time, just to see what he can do when he gets in the open field. I’m pleased with the run game, and pleased with the protection. They started jumping into some things we weren’t prepared for, that gave us some trouble, so kudos to them. They had to make some adjustments right there on the field.
"Overall, I’m just really pleased with our effort. We’ve got a ways to go, but we’re working."
When asked if his team is ready for Friday night’s opening game at Warren County, Coach Trapp said, "We’re ready, we’re definitely ready."