Tigers more at ease during practice after Fridays win
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday&8217;s football practice at Demopolis High School was on the light side. Light in spirit, that is. The mood was little different for the Tigers after putting an end to their two game losing streak. The players were in joking moods, prodding at each other. What a difference a win makes.
In spite of all the turnovers, adding to the win column is important for a young team. DHS were victors over the Wilcox Central Jaguars 39-8, improving their record to 2-2 for the year. It was also the first regional win for the season. &8220;We got after them (Wilcox) more on defense this time,&8221; said Tiger head coach Doug Goodwin.
The Demopolis defense gave up just eight points in the game. It&8217;s the fewest points given up in a game since shutting out Sumter County in the season&8217;s opener. They also only allowed seven first downs. The aggressive Tiger defense played with a lot of confidence last Friday, causing several of the Jaguar plays to result in negative yards. The Jaguars amassed only 160 total yards for the game, all on the ground. Give a lot of credit to the DHS linebackers.
The game was almost completely an all ground game. Demopolis totaled 231 yards on the ground for the game. Most of those yards came from Shantrell Braxton, who gobbled up 190 yards in 30 carries. It meant that the DHS offensive line, who spent a good bit of time on the field, was doing a great job of opening holes for Braxton and senior Lucious Haywood to run through. They both are team leaders in scoring touchdowns.
The Tigers threw for just 14 yards in the air, while Wilcox did not complete a pass in eight tries. &8220;We didn&8217;t want to put much pressure on Jacob (Kerby),&8221; added Goodwin. &8220;They were playing a 3-4 defense and blitzing, so we didn&8217;t throw much at all&8221; Kerby, who&8217;s just a sophomore completed two of seven passing attempts.
Kerby will get the chance to put the ball up a little more Friday versus Greensboro.