The DeKalb County High School Tigers football team haven't made it easy for fans the last few weeks, and their last regular game on the road against the Stone Memorial Panthers was no exception. The game had playoff implications and went down to an overtime thriller.

It was a cold and wet night, with rain having soaked the field over the past couple of days. DeKalb would receive to start the game, starting at their own 42, but right off the bat they backed themselves up with a hold. A QB keeper by Briz Trapp gained most of the yards back, but then a bad snap had Trapp falling on the ball back at the 11. A run by Colby Barnes lost a yard and the Tigers had to punt.

Stone Memorial would start their first possession at their own 45, but would do even worse. On the first play from scrimmage, a pass by Panther QB Hunter Heavilon was intercepted by Ty Webb at the DeKalb 18.

There, a run by Nathaniel Crook was good to the 22, then a keeper took the ball to the 27. On third down, another Crook run was caught in the backfield at the 23, and again the Tigers punted.

The Panthers would start at their own 41, but a holding penalty backed them up 10 yards. A false start backed them up five more, then a pass to Kaleb Flowers was stopped at the line. A Jake Shada run was good to the 26, then a Heavilon keep lost a yard. The Panthers would punt, but a low snap ended with the Tigers getting the ball at the Panther 20.

This time the Tigers would strike. A wildcat run by Isaac Knowles was good to the 16, then a carry by Colby Barnes was good to the 12. Barnes drove up the middle to the 10 and a first down, then went again to the seven. On a second and goal, Trapp tossed it to Knowles, in for the touchdown. The Axel Aranda PAT was good, and with 1:12 left in the first quarter, the Tigers took the 7-0 lead.

On the kick, Bryant Carter returned to the Panther 41, then a false start backed Stone Memorial up five yards. On the last play of the quarter, a pass to Bear Eldridge was good to the 40, then a pass to Flowers took the ball to Tiger territory at the 46. Another pass to Flowers fell incomplete, then a pitch was downed at the 40.

A keeper would give Stone Memorial a first down at the 30, then a pass in the end zone was broken up by Webb. Another Carter run was stopped at the line, then a pitch to Carter was good only to the 24. Facing a fourth down the Panthers went for it. A deep pass to Chris Hannah was broken up by Knowles as he was going for the ball, but the officials said it was pass interference. The Panthers had new life.

A Carter carry was downed at the nine, then a keeper was stuffed for no gain. A pass to Flowers fell incomplete, and again going for it on fourth, a Heavilon pass went out of bounds. The Tigers took over at the nine.

Backed up, it looked like the Tigers were in a tough spot. A Crook carry lost three yards, then Trapp was sacked at the three. A delay of game penalty backed them up again, to the one and a half yard line, then another wildcat formation saw Knowles run to the 26. Fans didn't celebrate long, as on the next play a pass was intercepted by Eldridge at the Panther 40.

Stone Memorial didn't have the ball long however, as a Heavilon pass was intercepted by Tyler Estes on the next play. DeKalb had regained possession at the Panther 34.

A Trapp keep was down at the 31, then a Knowles carry was swamped back at the 38. A screen pass to Knowles was good to the 27, and facing a fourth and three the Tigers lined up in the wildcat. The snap went over Knowles' head, ending with him falling on the ball at the DeKalb 47.

The Panthers would go three downs and face another fourth and one on their next possession. Going for it, DeKalb stopped them short, and took over at the 39 with 43 seconds left in the half. DeKalb would run the ball reaching midfield before the half would end.

The Panther would get the ball to start the second half, and would begin at their own 40, but penalties would kill their drive. A hold would push them to the 30, and they would not be able to gain from there.

A punt gave the Tigers the ball at their own 34, but DeKalb couldn't do much either. A keep reached the 37, then a Barnes run was stopped for a three-yard loss. A keeper was stopped at the line, and the Tigers would punt.

Stone Memorial was start at their own 38, and would finally mount a scoring drive. A deep pass to Flowers was broken up by John Ellis, then a Carter run was good to the DeKalb 49. Another Carter carry gained two, then a keep was run out of bounds at the 45. A pass was caught at the 40, but a hold pushed them back to the Panther 45. On third and 16, a pass to Flowers was down to the DeKalb 42, then on fourth down a pass to Eldridge was good to the 32.

With new life the Panthers looked to get on the board. A Carter run was good to the 25, then another was down at the 23. A deep pass was incomplete in the end zone, but another pass interference call against the Tigers kept the drive alive. Set up at the 12, a Heavilon keep was good to the two, then a Carter carry was stopped at the three. Another keep was down at the one-foot line, then a sneak was in for six. DeKalb was also tagged with unsportsmanlike call. The extra point was good, and with 3:10 left in the third, the game was tied 7-7.

With yards from penalties on the kickoff, the Panthers tried an onside kick, but DeKalb downed it at the 36 and gained another unsportsmanlike call. The 15-yard penalty backed the Tigers up to the 21. A pass to Knowles was on the ground, then a Trapp keep was good to the 22, but an unsportsmanlike on the Panthers gave DeKalb the ball at the 36.

The Tigers went back to the wildcat, with Knowles running to the 40, the 45, then the 47. As the third quarter wound down, another Knowles direct snap went up the middle to the 48. DeKalb was caught with a delay call, then a fumbled snap ended with Trapp falling on the ball at the 40. A high snap was dealt with and a pass to Knowles was only good to the Panther 46. The Tigers had to punt.

The Panthers started at their own seven and would move to the 31 before the drive would stall. On a third and 15 play from the 26 a Heavilon pass was intercepted by Knowles and run to the 25.

The Tigers made quick work. After a Trapp keep to the 23, a pass to Knowles was in for the touchdown. After a low snap, the PAT was good and DeKalb took a 14-7 lead with 8:06 left to play.

Braden Looper returned to the Panther 37, where Stone Memorial would net just three yards before having to punt. They would fake and would be run out of bounds at the 45, but DeKalb would be called for a dead ball late hit. Because it was fourth down, the Tigers got the ball and the penalty was assessed to the DeKalb 40.

A Crook run got the ball to the 43, then a Knowles run ended with a fumble and the Panthers falling on it at the DeKalb 42.

DeKalb had made one mistake too many, and Stone Memorial was about to cash in. A keep was good to the 40, then another was down at the 34. A carry was stopped at the line, and on a fourth and two again the Panthers went for it. They didn't have to run a play, when the Tigers were called for off sides.

Set up at the 29, a pass to Flowers fell incomplete, then a run by Carter gained one yard. A pitch to Carter was good to the 22, but a false start backed them up to the 27. Facing a fourth and eight, they again rolled the dice. A pass was good to the five. Carter took the ball to the four, then another run was good for the score. With the extra point, the Panthers tied the game 14-14 with 1:24 left to play.

The kick would give the Tigers the ball at their own 17, but the drive would go backwards. On fourth down from their own four, DeKalb punted with nine seconds left to play. The Panthers would run two plays with Knowles getting an interception on the hail Mary play. The game would go into overtime.

Each team would have a chance at the ball, starting at the 10 yard line. The Panthers won the toss and elected to let the Tigers go first.

Right off the bat, a false start backed the Tigers up to the 15. A Barnes run was stopped at the line, then a pass to Knowles resulted in no gain. A pass to Barnes was downed at the one yard line, and on fourth down it was the Tigers' turn to gamble. Barnes was handed the ball and in for the touchdown. Aranda's PAT was good and DeKalb took a 21-14 lead.

Then it was the Panthers' turn. A carry was good to the nine, then a Carter carry was in for six. Stone Memorial was one point from tying the game. The extra point kick was up, and no good. The Tigers took the 21-20 overtime victory.

At 6-4 on the season, and 3-2 in the region, the Tigers finished in third place in Class 4A Region 4. They will travel to Chattanooga next Friday night to take on the East Hamilton Hurricanes in the first round of the state play-offs. The Hurricanes are 8-2 on the season and 5-1 in Class 4A Region 3.