The Dekalb County Tigers threw their way to a 38-14 win over the Livingston Academy Wildcats on Friday night in Smithville.
The Wildcats (5-2, 2-1) struggled to overcome an early deficit and turnovers as they dropped their first region game of the season.
“I thought we played not to lose the game. I don’t think we played to win,” said LA head coach Bruce Lamb. “That was partially my fault. The kids were prepared, but we didn’t execute like we should have. We were afraid to make a mistake and when we did make a mistake it kind of snowballed.”
Dekalb County quarterback Axel Aldino had a successful night throwing the football to his receivers against the LA defense. Lamb said the Wildcats had some blown coverages mixed with strong play by the Tigers.
“We had some blown coverages,” said Lamb. “The young man (Aldino) was putting the ball right on the money. He had an exceptional game. We tried to get pressure on him and we were having problems at time getting pressure on him. When we did, he would scramble out and kept his eyes down field, looking to throw the ball. It was very difficult for us to defend. They did a great job.”
The Tigers (4-3, 2-0) secondary combined with the front-seven who got consistent pressure to force five interceptions in the contest.
“They got some pressure on us,” said Lamb. “When you get pressure on the quarterback that’s probably the best pass defense that you can have. It wasn’t all on (sophomore quarterback Nathan Cowgill). We’ve got to be able to protect him and give him time to throw. They made some good plays. They came ready to play. You’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and try to get better.”
The loss puts the Wildcats one game back of Macon County and Dekalb County at the top of the Region 3/4A standings. Livingston will meet Macon County in the final game of the regular season.
The Wildcats will now turn their attention towards a road matchup with White County (3-3). It is the High School Football Game of the Week and will be broadcast live on the UCR Facebook page and on Newstalk 107.7 and 1400 the HUB. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:45 Friday night.
Lamb said he expects his team will come back ready to play.
“Our kids are very resilient,” said Lamb. “I think they’ll come back ready to work. I think our kids will come back with a little hunger, and I think we’ll come back ready to play this week.”