There were high hopes last Friday night as the DeKalb County High School Tigers took the field. For the third time in four weeks, the Tigers would face the Tigers on the field. This time it was the Macon County Tigers coming into town. It was a game we needed to win, and a game we should have won.

Right from the start we knew it was going to be an all-out fight. DeKalb would kickoff to Macon and as the clock started to tic, Macon pulled a play right out of the old Tennessee Titans playbook. The ball was caught on one side of the field by Braylon Flowers, then lateralled to Gabe Borders on the other side, who ran it 80 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good, but just 16 seconds into the game, Macon was on the board, 6-0.

DeKalb would start their first possession of the game from their own 22, and soon it looked like disaster would strike. A Briz Trapp keeper was good to the 27, then a deep pass to Marquez Chalfant fell incomplete. The next play, a Trapp pass was intercepted by Macon’s Ty Young, downed at the DeKalb 37.

Things looked bleak, but the DeKalb defense stepped up and bailed the offense out. Macon would go three and out, gaining only three yards before facing a fourth and seven. They would go for it, but an illegal formation call would back them up five yards. They would go for it again, and the deep pass to Borders fell incomplete. DeKalb took over on downs.

The game would go back and forth throughout the first quarter, with each team facing fourth down and having to punt.

DeKalb would get the ball back, fair caught at their own 42 with just 1:07 left in the quarter. A Trapp keeper would be good to the 47, and along with a personal foul on Macon, set DeKalb up at the Macon 38. A keep would then be stuffed for no gain, and another would end in a two-yard loss as the quarter came to an end.

On the first play of the second quarter, DeKalb finally got on the board. A deep pass to Chalfant was caught and good for a touchdown. The Adrian Prater extra point was good and with 11:49 left in the second, DeKalb took a 7-6 lead.

The game had suddenly become a battle of the offenses, as Macon’s next possession would come away with points. Starting at their own 37, a pass to Borders was good to the DeKalb 37. A Luke Gammon keeper was run up the sideline all the way to the 10, then a pass interference call on DeKalb had Macon set up with a first and goal at the five.

A fumbled snap ended with Gammon falling on the ball at the four, then a Borders run was only good for one yard. Bradon Warren was handed the ball for one yard, and on a fourth and goal from the two, the Macon Tigers went for it. Gammon called his own number and was into the end zone. Macon lined up for a two-point try, but a false start backed them up and they went for the extra point. The kick was good and with 8:13 left in the half, Macon had reclaimed the lead, 13-7.

On the kickoff, Ryon Lyons would return to the DeKalb 33, and from there the hometown Tigers would make quick work again. A carry by Malachi Trapp would go 67 yards for the touchdown. Just like that, DeKalb had retaken the lead. With the extra point kick by Prater, DeKalb was up 14-13 with 7:52 left in the half.

The offensive battle wouldn’t stop there. Macon would return the kick to their own 28, and from there start another scoring drive. On a third and six from the 32, a Zach Borders carry was good to the DeKalb 29. There, a Gammon keep was downed at the 18, and later a pass to Zach Borders was good for a fresh set of downs at the 11. The next play, a Gammon keep was in the end zone. Macon’s attempt at a two-point conversion was stuffed, but with 4:03 left in the half, Macon was up 19-14.

Lyons would return the ball for DeKalb to their won 37, and the Tigers would again work to add points to the board. A Briz Trapp keep was good to the 49, then a Malachi Trapp run was good to the Macon 32. A pass to Malachi took the ball to the nine, where the drive would stall. A keep was stuffed at the line, then a Malachi run ended with a one-yard loss. Another keep was down at the seven, and facing a fourth down with just 20 second on the clock, DeKalb went for a field goal. The kick was good, cutting the Macon lead, 19-17.

DeKalb would get the ball to start the second half, and once again would mount a scoring drive. Starting at their own 21, a keep was good to the 30, then a Malachi Trapp run was good to the 41. Another keeper was downed at the 47, then a Jon Hendrix run was good to the Macon 42. Another Malachi carry was down to the 36, then a pass to Hendrix was complete, but he slipped on the wet field, down at the 39. A pass to Malachi was good for a first down at the 30, then a pass to Jordan Parker was complete to the 14. A second down pass to Lyons was downed at the 13, then a keep was good to the three.

With a first and goal from the three, a Malachi run was good for a touchdown, but a block in the back flag negated the points. Another Malachi run was stopped for no gain, then Briz Trapp took a sack back at the 19-yard line. A pass to Chalfant went over his head, and facing a fourth down DeKalb went for the field goal. The kick was up and good. With 2:59 left in the third, DeKalb was back on top, 20-19.

Unfortunately, that would be the last points DeKalb would see in the game. Whatever momentum they had gained was quickly shot down by Macon’s next possession. A squib kick gave Macon the ball at their own 39, and a Zach Borders run carried the ball to the 47. There, a fumble ended with a Gammon sack back at the 44, but then another Borders carry was good all the way to the Macon 49. The next play, a deep pass to Gabe Borders was good for a touchdown. A pass to Gabe for two points was no good, but once again Macon had retaken the lead, 25-20 with 55 seconds left in the third.

DeKalb would have the ball going into the fourth quarter, and would seemingly move down for yet another scoring drive. But penalties and sloppy play would doom the drive, leading to the game getting out of reach for the hometown team.

Starting at their own 39, runs and keeps by Malachi and Briz, took the ball to the Macon 25. There, a false start backed them up five, but another Malachi run and a keeper were good to the 14. A pass to Malachi would end in a four-yard loss, but another keep gained two yards back. On a third and 12 play, at the 16, another false start backed them up five, then Briz took a sack back at the 28. Facing a fourth and forever, a Briz Trapp pass to Chalfant fell incomplete and Macon took over on downs.

DeKalb’s defense seemed to be spent, and Macon’s next drive showed some big mistakes by DeKalb. A combination of passes and runs took the ball to the 45, where another run was down in DeKalb territory at the 48. There, a pass was complete to a wide-open Kelan Hire, down to the 25. A Gabe Borders run was good to the 30, then Gammon connected with another wide-open receiver, Matthew Wheeley, down to the eight. Another Borders run was to the four, then a Bradon Warren run was in for the touchdown. The extra point was good, and with 2:57 left to play, Macon commanded a 32-20 lead.

DeKalb would make one last run towards the end zone, but would only reach the Macon 32, where a fourth and nine play ended with an incomplete pass. Macon would claim the 32-20 win.

The DeKalb Tigers drop to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in Region-4, while Macon County improves to 6-1 and 3-1 in region play. Next week the Tigers will play their final home game of the regular season against Cumberland County (2-5, 0-4) on Senior Night.