By Michael Lindsay
The DeKalb County Tigers are off to a 2-0 start in 2024 as they picked up a 35-6 victory at Smith County Friday night.
“I’m happy for our guys,” said DeKalb County head coach Steve Trapp. “I didn’t like how we started the game, but they battled tonight and came out victorious.”
Senior quarterback Jordan Parker led the Tigers with 113 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air while rushing for 36 yards and a score on the ground. Sophomore receiver Ryan Lyons hauled in 4 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers.
“That’s just our guys,” said Trapp. “That’s the capability we have. We have a lot of different guys that we think can make plays for us, and we saw that tonight. Defensively, our guys were following their assignments and doing what they’re supposed to do.”
After a scoreless first quarter, DeKalb County struck first in the second period as Parker rushed in a 4-yard touchdown to give DeKalb County a 6-0 lead with 8:44 left in the frame.
DeKalb County found the end zone again in the second quarter as Parker hit Lyons on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left in the period to give the Tigers a 2-possession lead. Parker rushed in a 2-point conversion as DeKalb County led 14-0 at halftime.
The Tigers opened the second half in the red zone as a kickoff return by Jon Hendrix set them up inside the Smith County 20-yard line. DeKalb County’s Ty Webb punched in a 3-yard score with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter to put his team ahead 21-0.
Following a Smith County punt on the ensuing drive, DeKalb County found the end zone again as Parker hit Lyons for his second touchdown reception of the night as the 19-yard scoring play put the Tigers ahead 28-0 with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
The Owls got on the scoreboard with 1:14 remaining in the third period as freshman Kaiden Mason rushed in a 19-yard touchdown to make the score 28-6.
DeKalb County tacked on a final touchdown in the fourth quarter as Cecil Ketchum rushed in a 67-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 35-6 victory over the Owls in Carthage.
DeKalb County improves to 2-0 overall and will travel to Livingston Academy (2-0) next week to open Region 4-4A play while Smith County falls to 0-2 and plays their Region 3-2A opener at Liberty Creek.
