The Tigers’ quest to the playoffs began Friday as they faced off against their first district opponent, the McGregor Bulldogs. After being down by as many as 28 points, their valiant comeback fell short as they lost the contest 49-40. The Tigers are now 2-3 on the season.
“Everybody in this program is disappointed with the results we’re getting right now,” RHS Head Coach Jacob Campsey said. “There’s never any doubt about our fight because we never go away. We just can’t let a good team get off to a great start like that.”
McGregor would get on the board first with quarterback Veandre McDaniel running for a 17-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers failed to possess the squib kick and McGregor’s Caleb Carmichael fell on it. This gave McGregor the ball back with great field position. The Bulldog’s turned the miscue into points as McDaniel connected with Carmichael for a 33-yard touchdown on the next play. This put the Tigers into a 14-0 hole early in the game.
The Tigers would get on the board later in the quarter with Kobe Mitchell finding Kesean Raven on a 10-yard touchdown pass. The score was 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, McDaniel continued to be a problem for Rockdale. The Bulldogs’ dynamic quarterback would throw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Zach Williams and a 38-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Vinning to extend the lead.
The Bulldog’s special teams would get in on the action as they blocked a Rockdale punt. The ball was recovered in the end zone by Khyran Jones for another score.
RHS running back Cam’ron Valdez scored late in the half on a 32-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked making the score 13-35 at half.
In the third quarter, the teams would trade scores. The Tigers came out of the locker room and drove down the field on the opening drive. They capped off the drive with Kobe Mitchell dialing up a 40-yard touchdown pass to Raven.
The Bulldogs responded with McDaniel punching a 1-yard run for a touchdown. The Bulldog quarterback would find the end zone again on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dayton Threadgill to garner his fifth touchdown of the day.
Raven would continue his dominance on the next drive snagging a 21-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell. The Tigers trailed 27-49 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers showed that they were not going to give up. In a whacky turn of events, Enrique Rivera stripped the ball from McDaniel and ran it back 44 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown gave Rockdale life and hyped up the players and crowd. As the game wound
As the game wound down Mitchell threw a 50-yard strike to Hagan Land for a touchdown making the score 40-49. The Tigers decided to go for the two-point conversion. After a penalty called back a completed pass, the next attempt was unsuccessful.
The Bulldogs would run the clock out to seal the win.
Kobe Mitchell went 9 of 19 for 185 passing yards, 24 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Valdez led the Tigers in rushing with 97 yards and one touchdown. Raven’s play kept the Tigers in the game snagging four catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns.
For the defense, defensive lineman Ty Mayberry led the Tigers with 14 tackles, two tackles for the loss and one forced fumble. Defensive Lineman Bruce Mayfield also had a good game with nine tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Coach Campsey says he
Coach Campsey says he needs the guys to get their swagger back in order to get back to their winning ways.
“I feel like our kids aren’t playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Campsey said. “We need to figure out a way to get some mojo and swagger back. We have to play like we’re not afraid to be good.”
The Tigers would like to get back in the win column this Friday as the rival Cameron Yoemen come to town for the “Battle of the Bell” game.
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