By Matt Jones
The Tigers pulled out a great win this past Friday on senior night. The West Blocton Tigers fought hard and overcame some adversity throughout this game to come out on top. Their opponent, the Hale County Wildcats, was a team loaded with speed and athleticism. The game ended with a score of 44-37. The record for the Tigers moves to 5-4 on the season. They move to 3-3 in class 4a region 3. This victory helped the Tigers’ chances to make post-season play.
The offense for the Tigers struggled to put points on the board in the first half. They ended the first half with just 7 points. The second half was a totally different story putting up 37 points. Nate Barron (RB) was very impressive Friday night. Watching him run you would think he had eyes all around his head. His vision to find the open hole was definitely turned on. He ended the night with 15 carries for 157 yards of rushing and one touchdown. He also snagged 37 receiving yards. Cooper Deerman also provided 55 yards of rushing on 8 carries. The Tigers offense had 280 yards of rushing offense and 223 yards of passing totaling 503 yards. A big highlight on Friday was getting to watch Caden Fancher light it up at his quarterback position. Caden has been battling knee injuries for the past year and a half which has hurt his on-the-field play. Friday night was a different story. Caden was running and throwing the ball like he had been starting all year. Caden completed seven passes for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns on Friday night. Three of those passes were to senior wide receiver Scotty Calhoun. Scotty had a career high night with 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hiler Spencer and Kevin Montgomery also contributed to the passing attack of the Tigers. Caden also got his legs involved rushing for 33 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The defense for the Tigers faced a lot of speed on Friday night and shut them down. Jamarkus O’Neil played great at his defensive end position. He had 8 total tackles on the night. Eli Underwood and Brody Cook were also very impactful on the defensive front helping disrupt multiple plays in the backfield. Brayden Morrison, Levi Carey, and Cooper Deerman played great at their linebacker position. They had a tough task trying to contain the speed of the Wildcats, but they conquered their task.
The special teams for the Tigers played a big role in the win. From a punt block to an onside kick, the special teams helped shift the momentum multiple times. Brian Orantes (K) went 4 for 4 on his field goals.
The West Blocton Tigers had great support from the town. The football team for the Tigers would like to extend a huge thank you to all the fans and especially the band and the cheerleaders for the excitement and energy throughout the game. The Tigers will take on Dallas County High School Friday night for their last regular season game this year.
