Youth league teams roll to semifinals

Published 11:48 am Thursday, October 29, 2009

All three Demopolis Youth League teams travelled to Greensboro to pick up victories Saturday.

The Demopolis Rookies (8U) started the day off with a 7-6, come-from-behind win over Bryant. Demopolis got a touchdown from Tavian Brown to tie the game before C.J. Williams scored on the point-after attempt to give the Tigers the win.

The victory advances Demopolis to the Southern Division Championship round this weekend.

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In the second Demopolis game, the Juniors (10U) routed Moundville 34-8. Amari Ransom scored the first Demopolis touchdown of the game. Chandler Barton and Logan McVay each added a score before Ben Dauphin broke a long run to increase the lead. After Moundville converted its only touchdown run of the game, William Wilkins returned a kickoff from just beyond midfield all the way for another touchdown. Ransom also scored on a point-after run for Demopolis while Treyveion McKinley connected on a pair of two-point kicks.

“Our blocking on the line has gotten a lot better,” Mark McVay, head coach of the juniors team said. “We’re able to run more formations and get more plays in.”

The win allows Demopolis, the No. 2 seed entering the playoffs, to advance to the semi-final round. That round serves to determine the winner of the Southern Division.

The Demopolis contingent rounded out its day in Greensboro when the senior team (12U) dropped Moundville 19-6.

In that game Ryan Schroeder scored on a touchdown pass from Justin Sanders beore adding another score later on a rush. Cameron Palmer accounted for a touchdown of his own and a point-after run.

“Moundville is a real good team,” seniors’ head coach Joe Tidmore said. “We had our best offensive game all year. We were able to mix it up and run and pass.”

Like its two younger counterparts, the senior team will travel to Eutaw Saturday to compete in the Southern Division Championship. All three teams will face Greensboro for the right to advance to the finals.

“We’ve just got to be more physical than them,” Tidmore — who has taken the 12U team to the semi-finals for the second straight year with the help of Chip Hughes, Jason Abrams, Don Holtzclaw, Jim Logan and Joe Holtzclaw — said. “They’re fast, very athletic. We’re just going to have to go at them and see what we can do.”

The only loss the Demopolis seniors have suffered on the season came at the hands of Greensboro. Similarly, McVay’s team is looking to atone for its defeat against Greensboro earlier in the season.

“We didn’t move the ball a lot in the first game. We’ve really improved,” McVay said. “Our offense has gotten a lot better. It will be a lot different this time.”

The teams will play Saturday in Eutaw, beginning with the rookies’s game at 9 a.m.