By Matt Jones
The West Blocton Tigers ended their season last Friday night against the Montgomery Catholic Knights in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers fought hard but could not match up against the talent that was on the other side of the ball. The Knights are one of the top 4a schools in the state and are notoriously a team that makes it to the semifinals or state championship game. The game ended with a final score of 48-7. There were some bright spots and some great things to look forward to next year.
The offense for the Tigers was led by the offensive line. They did a great job all night getting a push against a really tough defense. Landyn Scurlock, Landyn Lindsay, John Lee Crim, Carson Champion, and Mason Elliot played tough and helped the offense gain 117 yards of rushing on 32 carries. Nate Barron ended the game with 9 carries for 53 yards. He had to come out of the game after the first half due to an injury. The Tigers offense was able to score late in the game with a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Will Morris.
The defense for the Tigers played well. Levi Carey led the defense at his middle linebacker position. He made all of the calls and made 7 tackles on the night. Kevin Montgomery also had a lot of tackles at his safety position with 5 tackles. The Tigers have a bright future with all the young players that are on the defensive side of the ball. They had great leadership from Brody Cook and Carson Deerman all year and will be a better unit for it next season.
The special teams for the Tigers played solid all night. Brian Orantes went 1 for 1 in his field goals on the night. Kevin Montgomery, Markell O’Neil, and Nate Barron shared the load returning the kicks and did well gaining yards.
The West Blocton Tigers want to congratulate all of our senior football players on a great year. They have fought hard and overcome a lot of adversity. Thank you to Landyn Scurlock, Landyn Lindsay, Scotty Calhoun, Will Morris, Markell O’Neil, Kevin Montgomery, Seth Isbell, Matthew Wright, Brody Cook, CJ Moneyham, Tony Mancuso, Brayden Morrison, Carson Deerman, and Christopher Fernandez on a great season. They have left some great expectations for the players that are coming up behind them.
Thank you also to the community for always showing for our boys. Thank you to the West Blocton Band, Cheerleaders, and Auxiliary for keeping the energy throughout all of our games.
