It wasn’t a pretty game. In fact, it was probably the sloppiest game the DeKalb County Tigers had played so far this year. It was Homecoming Night at DCHS, and the Tigers hosted the Purple Tigers of Watertown in what would become a much tougher game than expected.
The usual Friday night game had been moved up to Thursday, due to Hurricane Francis moving up the Mississippi Valley and threatening rain across the Middle Tennessee region. School officials decided to move the game time in order to keep the pregame homecoming festivities from being held on a wet sloppy field. Smithville had seen some light showers earlier in the day, but luckily the rain held off for the game.
DeKalb would win the toss and defer until the second half. The Purple Tigers would start at their own 20 after a touchback kick by Adrian Prater, and would actually lose three yards on the drive before being forced to punt.
The black and gold had no such issues on their first drive. Starting at their own 37, a Jordan Parker keep was good to the 48, a Cecial Ketchum run was down to the Watertown 32, then another keeper was in for the touchdown. Prater’s PAT was good and just like that DeKalb was up 7-0 with 9:01 left in the first.
Watertown would start their next drive at their own 21, but a late hit call on DeKalb set the Purple Tigers up at the 37. They would then go on to show that they were a much better team than their record would reveal. A Landon Oliver run was good to the 37, then a Blake Waldorf pass to Marcus Reynolds was down to the DeKalb 29. A pass to Garrett Davis was down to the 23, then another run by Oliver was good to the 18, but a holding penalty would back them up to the 32.
A pass to Oliver was good to the 25, then a Landon Harper carry was down to the seven. A pass to Jesse Bratcher took the ball to the three, then Harper ran it up the middle for a touchdown. With the extra point, Watertown had tied 7-7 with 5:11 left in the first.
After a squib kick by Watertown, DeKalb started their next drive at their own 34. There, the Tigers would get three more consecutive first downs before punching it in. A Parker pass to Ty Webb was good to the Watertown 34, then a Ketchum carry was down at the 19. Parker then connected a pass to Jon Hendrix in for six. A late hit penalty against Watertown would be accessed on the kickoff, but with the extra point, the Tigers were back on top 14-7 with 4:24 left in the first.
With a touchback, Watertown would start at their own 20 and slowly try to move down the field. The Purple Tigers’ passing game kept DeKalb guessing and chipped away at yardage. Despite two holding penalties, Watertown would reach the DeKalb 38 on a third a 22 play. A Harper run would be good to the 12 as the first quarter came to a close, then another Harper carry was down to the three. A Waldorf keep was good for six, but a holding call would negate the score. On third and 11 from the 13, an intentional grounding call backed Watertown up even further. On fourth down at the 26, the Purple Tigers rolled the dice. The pass play fell incomplete and DeKalb took over on downs.
DeKalb wasted no time. A Parker keep was good to the 35, then another was down to the Watertown one. Jon Hendrix was handed the ball for the one-yard touchdown. With the extra point, and an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Watertown head coach, DeKalb was up 21-7 with 9:20 left in the half.
The kickoff would result in a touchback, and Watertown would start at their own 20. There, the passing game mixed with a tough running game, kept DeKalb on their heels. Watertown would reach the 50, where on a third and six play, a Harper carry was down at the DeKalb 41. Oliver would run up the middle to the 37, then a pass to Braylin Caruthers was good to the 34. Another Waldorf keep was good for a first down at the 32, and later a pass to Jesse Bratcher was down at the 13. It was all Waldorf from then on. A keep was down at the six, another to the two, then another for six points. With the extra point, and 2:51 left in the half, Watertown had cut the lead, 21-14.
DeKalb would start their next possession at their own 35, but right away disaster hit. On a Parker scramble, he ended up fumbling the ball with Watertown recovering at the 32. The Purple Tigers were in prime position to tie the game before halftime, but the DeKalb defense would hold tough.
Watertown would keep to the ground game, reaching the 16 where the drive would stall. After a pair of incompletes, the Purple Tigers lined up for a field goal try. The kick was up, but no good. DeKalb would takeover on downs, but would only reach midfield before the end of the half.
The black and gold would get the ball to start the third quarter, and once again wasted no time getting points on the board. With an onside kick, James Hannah fell on the ball at the DeKalb 47. A Ketchum run was good to the 44, then a Webb carry was good to the 26, and aided by a facemask penalty by Watertown. The ball was placed at the 11, where another Ketchum carry was good to the six. A keeper was down at the one, then a Webb carry gained half a yard. The ball was then handed to Hendrix, who punched it in for the touchdown. The PAT was good and with 9:00 left in the third, DeKalb held a 28-14 lead.
Watertown would start the next drive at their own 24, but would only reach the 36 before being forced to punt.
DeKalb would get the ball at their own 37, but a series of mistakes would have them moving backwards. A keeper would get big yardage, but a block in the back penalty put the ball back to the 42. Another keeper was killed by a holding penalty, then a Ketchum carry ended with him slipping in the backfield at the 32. A Parker pass to Ryan Lyons went over his head, then Parker would be sacked back at the 19. Facing a fourth and 34, the Tigers punted.
The Purple Tigers had good field position, returning the ball to their own 49, but they wouldn’t be able to take advantage. A pass to Oliver gained eight yards, but then a sack at the Watertown 46, then an incomplete pass to Oliver had them facing fourth and 12. They would punt, and this time DeKalb would make them pay.
The punt rolled dead at the 20, where Parker again called his own number. He would run eighty yards for the touchdown with 3:28 left in the third. With the PAT, DeKalb was up 35-14.
Despite being down, Watertown would not just lay down. With some help by the DeKalb defense, they would again move down the field. Starting at their own 13, a carry was good to the 18, but an unsportsmanlike call on the Tigers, gave them a first down at the 26. A passing play and another run by Harper were good to the DeKalb 20, where a pass to Davis fell incomplete. A pass to Reynolds was down at the 12, then a pass to Ethan Owen was into the endzone. With the PAT, and with 1:08 left in the third, Watertown had cut the lead 35-21.
The game would then go into dualling offenses. DeKalb would start at their own 49, where a pass to Ketchum, then a pass to Lyons had the ball at the 23. A Parker keep was down at the 18, then a pass to Wyatt Carter was good to the four. Ketchum would run next and be in for six. The extra point was good and with 10:40 left in the game DeKalb was on top 42-21.
Watertown decided the game wasn’t over however and would score again 22 second later. With a kick out of bounds, the Purple Tigers started at their own 35, where a pass to Bratcher was good for the touchdown. A fumble on the PAT resulted in no points, but Watertown was still in the game, 42-27 with 10:28 left to play.
DeKalb was still in fight mode and would add to their tally on the next drive. Starting at their own 24, they would keep to the ground game and try to run the clock. A keep and carries by Ketchum took the ball to the 46, then a pitch to Ketchum resulted in a facemask call against the Purple Tigers, placing the ball at the Watertown 40. A pass to Hendrix was good to the 18, then a keep was down at the seven. There, the drive stalled.
Parker took a sack at the 11, then a pass to Lyons was downed back at the 15. A pass to Ketchum was batted down, and DeKalb set up for a field goal attempt. The kick was up and through, giving the Tigers a 45-27 lead with 3:40 left to play.
That is where the score would stay. Watertown had the ball one more time, taking to the air, but failing on a fourth and two play. DeKalb would takeover and run out the clock, taking the 45-27 victory.
Parker had 13 rushes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, while Ketchum ran for 110 yards on 17 carries, with one touchdown. Webb had three runs for 20 yards and a touchdown, while Hendrix had one carry for a one-yard touchdown. Jesse Foutch had one run for -1 yards.
In the air game, Lyons had two catches for 18 yards, while Hendrix had three receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. Carter had one catch for 15 yards. Parker had six completions on nine pass attempts for 101 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked one time. Prater went six for six on PATs and had one field goal.
