JEMISON – With a No. 1 ranking in the region on the line, Demopolis and Jemison faced off at the Jemison House of Pain Friday night.

But it would be the Panthers who would be feeling the most pain in this contest.

A game that had all the makings of a shootout turned into a one-sided romp as the Tigers took a 55-16 win.

“That’s a good team right there,” said Jemison coach Brad Abbott. “They’re very experienced, and they have a state championship as their goal. They don’t take any team for granted and they come to play every night.”

The Tigers struck first with 7:40 left in the first quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run by Dusty Gracie and went ahead 7-0.

However, the Panthers came back and scored when Shannon Oliver took a ball

in from 71 yards out with 3:14 remaining in the first. A pass from Van Clements to Justin Deavers for the two-point conversion was successful, and the Panthers went ahead 8-7. That would be the last time they would lead in the game.

Gracie came calling again for the Tigers, this time on a scamper of 24 yards. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, and the Tigers held a 13-8 lead with 0:26 left in the frame.

Demopolis came back with another score when quarterback Devin Goodwin hooked up with Bart Pettus for a 43-yard touchdown pass midway through the second.

The score stood at 19-8 at that point.

A punt snap that sailed over Justin Elkins head on the Panthers’ ensuing possession was kicked through the end zone for a safety, and Demopolis went ahead 21-8.

The Tigers scored one more touchdown before the half ended on a one-yard touchdown run by Gracie, and took a 28-8 lead into the locker room.

“I thought coming into the game they were going to have a tough time stopping our offense,” said Demopolis coach Doug Goodwin. “But they’re

well-coached, they have a couple of strong runners and they’re a fine football team.”

The Tigers came out in the third quarter and gave the Panthers a dose of what they got in the first half.

Rod Jones wasted no time putting his team further ahead, running the ball in from three yards away less than a minute and a half in. A missed extra point made the score 34-8 at that point.

After another Demopolis score, the Tigers finally got on the board again just one second into the fourth quarter. Shannon Oliver ran in a ball from the one-yard line and a two-point conversion made the score 41-8.

The Tigers scored twice more and rounded out the scoring 55-16.

“I hope we grow up as a team from this and learn,” said Abbott. “We’re trying to get to where they’re at. But our guys never gave up. They worked hard the entire game.”

The Tigers continued their undefeated season, and are now 7-0, and the loss put the Panthers at 5-2.