The DCHS Tiger football team traveled to Wilson County to compete in the Watertown Jamboree Saturday, facing the Watertown Purple Tigers in two quarters of play.
Watertown kicked off to DeKalb to begin the game, and the Tigers took the ball on their own 20-yard line. DCHS fired off with two first downs in three plays. Three plays later a complete pass from Steven Jennings to Bradley Miller got the Tigers inside the 10-yard line with 9:09 on the clock in the first quarter of play.
A solid pass to 23 put the Tigers up 6-0 in eight plays, and a good extra-point kick by Matthew Poss put DeKalb up by seven with 7:59 on the clock.
The Purple Tigers took the ball back on their own 20, and immediately broke loose with a 30-yard run to take the action to mid field. The next play saw Watertown complete a pass for a first down, then gain another five yards in two plays. An incomplete pass brought the two Tiger teams to a fourth and five situation, but WHS fired off a 20-yard pass for a first down, and after two more failed pass attempts, Watertown put a field goal up to bring the score to 7-3 with 4:33 left in the first quarter.
DeKalb again took the ball on their own 20-yard line, where the Tigers lost the ball on downs and were forced to punt. Watertown got the pigskin back on their own 35-yard line with 3:25 on the clock.
WHS Quarterback Zachary Wren dropped in a short pass on the first play of the series to Vonte Bates, who blasted down the sideline for 65 yards and a touchdown. A good EP put the Purple Tigers ahead 10-7 with 3:09 left in the quarter.
The Tigers took the ball back on their own 20, and a complete pass to Isaih Jones for a quick first down put DeKalb on their own 31. Jennings then hit Bradley miller for five yards, but two incomplete pass attempts brought the Tigers to fourth and five.
DeKalb chose to punt, and Watertown took possession on their own 22. After an illegal procedure penalty and an incomplete pass left the Purple Tigers at second and fifteen, another short pass to Vonte Bates with 10 seconds left in the first turned into a 91-yard touchdown, and Watertown increased their lead to 17-7 after a good EP.
DeKalb got the ball back on their own 29, where Tyler Bundy broke loose with a run to the Watertown 25-yard line on the first play. Another Bundy run would have shown a 10-yard gain for DeKalb, but the ball was brought back to the 25 after the Tigers were called for a blocking in the back penalty. Two incomplete passes later the tigers were at third and ten, when Jennings hit Isaac Jones for a first down, taking DeKalb to their own 13-yard line. Two plays later Jennings was hit in the leg and removed from the game, likely out of caution, and backup quarterback Tyler Cantrell came into the game.
Cantrell threw an incomplete pass to bring the Tigers to fourth and ten, but Matthew Poss put up a good three-point kick to bring the score to 17-10 Watertown with 10:34 left on the clock.
Watertown took the ball back on their own 20, and gained seven yards on a ground. Another run for four yards brought a first down, and a run for no gain put them at second and ten.
Riley Sexton recovered a fumble on the next play, and DeKalb took the ball back on the Watertown 30 with 8:59 on the clock. Tyler Bundy then ran the ball to the 11-yard line. Cantrell completed a pass to Jones for no gain, and another Bundy run took the ball to the three-yard line on third down.
Bundy took the ball again, this time taking it in for a touchdown, and another good kick from Matthew Poss brought the score at 17-up with 7:08 on the clock.
Watertown took over on the 20. An incomplete pass and a run for no gain put the Purple Tigers at third and ten, but another pass to Vonte Bates took WHS into DeKalb territory at the 42-yard line.
A five-yard run, an incomplete pass, and a run for a loss brought Watertown to fourth and six. A 19-yard pass brought a first down for the Purple Tigers, however, and took WHS to the DeKalb 23. Nick May dropped the quarterback for a 10-yard loss on the ensuing play, taking the ball back to the 33, and putting the situation at second and 20.
A three-yard run brought Watertown to third and 17, and a pass for no gain and a holding penalty on WHS placed the ball on the 39, at third and 25. Yet another completion to Vonte Bates, this time for 37 yards, solved the Purple Tigers problem, however, and put them on the two-yard line with a first down.
A two-yard run and a good kick brought the score to 24-17 with 2:43 left on the clock.
DeKalb took possession on their own 20 with Cantrell still in as quarterback, and a pass to Isaih Jones brought a first down on the second play. A one-yard pass to Bundy and two failed pass attempts brought the Tigers to fourth and nine.
The Tigers punted with 42 seconds left in the second and final period, and Watertown took possession and waited out the clock for a 24-17 win.
The Tiger JV team faced Watertown Saturday night as well, losing a defensive battle to the Purple Tigers 10-6 in two quarters of play before the varsity game.
The regular season will begin Aug. 19 with a three-game home stand, starting with DCHS facing the Warren County Pioneers. Stone Memorial will come to Vanhooser Stadium on Aug. 26, and York Institute will visit on Sept. 2. The Tigers will then play three road games, at Cumberland County on Sept. 9, at Smith County on Sept. 16, and at Macon County on Sept. 23.
The Tigers will return home to host Sequatchie County on Sept. 30 and then will travel to Grundy County on Oct. 7. DeKalb will play at home against the Upperman Bees on Oct. 21 will travel to Cannon County on Oct. 28 to wrap up the regular season. All games start at 7 p.m.
