By Matt Jones
A hard-fought battle did not go the Tigers’ way this past Friday night. The West Blocton Tigers lost late in the 4th quarter to the Holtville Bulldogs 32-27. The loss brings the Tigers to 3-3 on the season. The game against Holtville does not affect West Blocton’s standings in the region. Big penalties made on key plays put the Tigers in bad situations. The boys fought hard but came up short.
The offense for the Tigers against Holtville was led by junior running back Nate Barron. Nate rushed for over 100 yards and had 3 touchdowns on the night. Trey Lawley (QB) also had a good game managing the offense. Late in the 4th quarter, Trey drove the offense down the field and scored a touchdown putting the Tigers up with little time remaining. At the end of the night, Trey finished the game with 10 complete passes for 114 yards and 1 passing touchdown. Kevin Montgomery led the wide receivers with the most receiving yards. He had 3 receptions for 57 yards. One of those catches came on the last scoring drive for the Tigers, which helped keep the drive alive. Markell O’neil, Evan Pearson, and Scotty Calhoun also contributed with receiving yards on the night.
The defense for the Tigers had some great moments in the game Friday night. The secondary for the Tigers had some players that performed well. Seth Isbell at his cornerback position had a great night locking down his opponent and also making plays in the run game. Evan Pearson (WR/S) came over from the offense to help in the safety position. He had an interception early in the game and had some tackles to help make an impact for the Tigers. Eli Underwood played very well on the defensive line. Coach King had this to say concerning Eli’s play, “He is a guy that has a motor that just doesn’t stop. He is going to give you 100% effort every play.” That showed Friday night with Eli having multiple tackles and 1 sack.
The West Blocton community supported their team well on Friday night. The Tigers can always count on a supportive fan base. Expect the “Bloc” to be hot this Friday night as the West Blocton Tigers will be taking on the Holt High School Ironmen in West Blocton for homecoming.
Coach King’s thoughts on the game:
“The season is not over. The Tigers are not done. This year is still a special year for these boys and the coaches.”
