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Wildcats spoil Tiger homecoming
Livingston gets 27-6 win in Smithville
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Tiger runningback David Bradford returned to action after missing a couple of weeks due to injury. The Tigers were able to mount a pair of long drives but came up short against their region foes. - photo by Duane Sherrill

Two early turnovers led to two Livingston Academy touchdowns, the Tigers digging themselves an early hole they couldn’t claw their way out of as the Wildcats spoiled homecoming with a 27 to 6 defeat.

The Livingston win came despite the DeKalb County offense coming alive, mounting two long, time-consuming drives, one using up most of the second quarter, the other eating up most of the third. However, the Tigers came up empty both times, unable to cut into the early lead they spotted the Wildcats.

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Senior runningback Tre Ladet ripped off a pair of long runs during Tiger loss to Livingston Friday night. - photo by Duane Sherrill

Livingston Academy first capitalized on an errant Axel Aldino pass, leaving them a short field in the waning moments of the first quarter after the teams had traded possessions, the earlier Livingston drive ending in a missed field goal. Wildcat runningback Mitchell Ayers capped the 30 yard drive with a three yard burst on the first play of the second quarter, making the Tigers pay for the miscue.

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Coach Steve Trapp works up the next play during a time out during the Tiger homecoming game against Livingston. - photo by Duane Sherrill
The Tigers again gave them ball way on their next drive as runningback David Bradford fumbled after bulldozing a pair of Wildcats, one of the defenders picking up the pigskin and running it to the Tiger 14. The Wildcats would score on a Will McDonald pass play making the count 14-0 at the 10:40 mark of the second.

The Tigers would hold on to the ball their next drive, going on a 15-play, nearly nine-minute drive which stalled and failed on a fourth down try as the half expired.

DeKalb County would again go on a long march when they got their hands on the ball in the third quarter, eating up seven minutes but coming one yard short of pay dirt when they were stone-walled at the Livingston one-yard-line on fourth down.

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While the defense played better than it had in recent weeks, turnovers left Livingston with short fields. - photo by Duane Sherrill

Livingston gave the Tigers a ray of hope when they fumbled the ball away on their first possession of the fourth quarter. The Tigers thanked them with a six play drive which included a 15 yard jaunt by runningback Tre Ladet before Aldino hit Grayson Redmon with a 27-yard pass for a touchdown. A missed conversion left the score 14-6 at the 9:47 mark of the fourth.

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Homecoming festivities were held pre-game with the crowing of Homecoming Queen Lydia Brown. - photo by Duane Sherrill
The Tigers were unable to capitalize on their good fortune as the Wildcats drove down the field, scoring just over a minute later on a 14-yard quarterback keeper by Will McDonald, making the score 21-6. McDonald would strike again last in the game, hitting Wesley Smith with a 14-yard pass to cap scoring for the evening.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 2-5 on the season as they travel to Smith County next week for a 7 p.m. kick off.