For the second straight game, the Demopolis junior varsity football team was down late. For the second straight game, they put the ball in the hands of freshman Shantrell Braxton. For the second straight game, he delivered.

With only 2:30 left in Monday night’s game in Jackson, the DHS JV faced a 14-8 deficit to the Jackson JV and were deep in their own territory. But Braxton broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run that shocked the Aggies and gave the Tigers the chance to take the lead with a conversion. Freshman Rick Boone scored on the extra point try for a 16-14 edge and when the Demopolis defense held, the JV Tigers moved to 3-0 on the season.

Braxton made a similar impact on the Tigers’ previous game, against Greensboro, when he scored from 80 yards out with DHS down and the clock under 2 minutes. Head coach Dusty Davis praised Braxton for the run, but also gave credit to the Tigers’ stout second-half defense.

“In the first half we came out and were a little sluggish. Jackson had a really good team,” he said. “In the second half our defense really came out with a lot of intensity and played great.”

Without the defense’s second-half effort, in which Jackson was held scoreless, Braxton’s run might not have made a difference. But thanks to freshman Carl Johnson and the rest of the Demopolis defensive line (“They all played really well,” Davis said), and the efforts of Boone and C.J. Jordan in the DHS linebacking corps, the Aggies 14-8 halftime lead never grew and set the stage for Braxton’s heroics.

Braxton also scored the tigers’ first TD, coming in the first quarter after Jackson had taken an early 6-0 lead. Braxton’s run tied it before sophomore quarterback Scott Cannon snuck in for the two-point conversion and an 8-6 lead. But another Aggie score would put the home side up six heading into halftime.

The DHS JV will take the field again Oct. 3 when the Tigers play host to Choctaw Co.

DMS wins third straight

In the first game of Monday’s Jackson doubleheader, the Demopolis Middle School football team handed their hosts a 22-6 loss to keep their perfect record intact. Like the JV, DMS is now 3-0.

DMS quarterback Jeremy Wallace got things started, but with a huge play on defense. After the Tigers had converged and forced a Jackson fumble, Wallace scooped up the loose ball and took off, going 40 yards for the score and a 6-0 lead.

Demopolis extended the lead to 14 after running back Anthony Hardy scored from inside the 10. DMS went 1-for-2 on their conversions as Wallace dashed in for two.

Jackson put a touchdown on the board before the half, narrowing the DMS lead to 14-6, but Wallace put the game out of reach with another big play. Wallace bootlegged and looked to throw, but with plenty of running room took off and went the distance from 60 yards out. Another two-point conversion stretched the lead to 22-6 and a stout DMS defense ensured the Aggies got no closer.

DMS plays their next game Oct. 4 at home vs. Camden.