Seems the two weeks of pretty tough practices paid off last night. Both our offense and defense shined last night in the Rinky Dink Jamboree. Our defense started off against Alfred's and did not allow a single first down for the entire 12 minutes they were on the field. Most of Alfred's plays resulted in a QB sack or a loss of yardage in the back-field. Several players really stood out. Conley Bone recovered two fumbles and had numerous tackles. Drake Gross, Jackson King and Landon Sloan also were in on several tackles. Josh Perkins, Tyler Armistead and Jake "the snake" Tyler also did a great job and made several big plays. It was a great effort by our defense all around.

On offense we opened up with a bang. Darin Davenport took the hand-off from Drew Yarbrough and scampered 59 yards before finally being tackled at the 1-yd line. Robert Marquet punched it in from there and just like that the Tigers had their first touchdown of the season. Darin would score on another long touchdown run later in the scrimmage. Robert had several runs of 10 yards or more. We got great blocking from our line and James Clayton out of the back-field. Now all we need to do is bring that kind of effort to the game on Saturday. Great job tonight Tigers. We are very proud of you! 

All I know is that our kids were ready to hit someone other than their teammate and it showed on Saturday against the Pirates. We came out in the opening quarter and our defense was flying all over the field, holding the Pirates scoreless in the opening quarter. Josh Hannan, Jackson King and Ryan Beallis made a couple of very nice plays to keep the Pirates offense at bay. Offensively we got a 25-yard touchdown run from Darin Davenport and a 53-yard TD run by Robert Marquet to give us a 13-0 lead after 6 minutes of play.

          The Pirates would get on the board in the 2nd quarter on a nice run by their quarterback and suddenly the score was 13-6. Our offense would respond right back, as we got a couple of nice runs by Darin Davenport and Robert Marquet would finish the drive with a 40-yard TD run. We failed to convert the extra point and the score was 19-6 at the half.

          The 3rd quarter would see our offense get the ball and go right back to work. After a short run by Robert for a 5-yard gain, Darin would once again find the endzone. He got a great block by James Clayton and some good blocking from our offensive line that allowed him to scamper 55 yards for his second touchdown of the game. We once again failed to convert the extra point and this one had turned into a blowout at 25-6.

          Our defense refused to let the Pirates get anything going on offense. After a nice tackle for a loss by Landon Sloan and Josh Perkins, Conley Bone recovered a fumble to give the ball right back to our offense. Once again it would be Mr. Davenport that would benefit from a nice block by James Clayton and Drew Yarbrough that allowed him to break free for his third TD of the game. This one would go for 38 yards and give us a commanding 31-6 lead. James Clayton converted the extra point and our lead was extended to 32-6 mid-way through the final quarter.

          Our defense kept the pressure on and made a couple of nice plays once again. Greyson Meyers and Tyler Armistead both had solo tackles in the Pirates backfield and Drake Gross would recover another Pirate fumble to give the ball back to our offense. I was wanting to run out the clock and tried to take my time in the huddle calling plays, but got warned by the referee to get the play in quicker. Anyway, we got a very nice run by Drew Yarbrough and a hard fought 6-yard run by James Clayton and we were back in business. With the clock winding down, Robert took the hand-off from Drew and darted 22-yards for his third touchdown of the game, making the final score 38-6 in this one.

          This one was an entire team effort. Our defense played very well and did not give the Pirates much of anything after that early touchdown. Great job to the entire defensive unit and coaches. Offensively, we pretty much did what we wanted. Our offensive line did a great job of keeping the Pirates out of our backfield, which allowed our backs to get the corner and after that it was over. Jack Hannan did a great job at center and the rest of his offensive line teammates held their own against the Pirates. Drew Yarbrough did a great job of running the offense and James Clayton threw some awesome blocks that allowed Robert and Darin to run wild most of the game.

          Things will get a lot tougher next week as we face a loaded Webb Energy Wildcats team that looks unbelieveable on both sides of the ball. It will be a challenge for our kids and we need a good week of practice to get us ready. Great job today Tigers. Your coaches are very proud of you.

Darin Davenport    5 carries     138 yards      3 TD's

Robert Marquet    7 carries     134 yards      3 TD's

Drew Yarbrough    1 carry        28 yards      

James Clayton      2 carries        8 yards 

Our week 1 offensive player of the week is Robert Marquet. He had a great game today versus the Alfred's Pirates. Robert rushed for 134 yards on just 7 carries and scored three big touchdowns. He also did a great job blocking for his teammates when called upon to do that. Robert's brother, Matthew, ran all over this league two years ago as an NCR Tiger. Robert looks to be well on his way to following in his brother's footsteps. Great game today Robert, we are very proud of you!!!

Our week 1 defensive player of the week is Josh Hannan. He had an awesome game today versus the Pirates. Josh had 4 tackles, including a couple of those in the Pirates backfield. He is only a 1st grader but sure doesn't play like one. Keep working hard in practice Josh. You had a great game today and your coaches are very proud of you!!!

I knew going into the game that Webb Energy had a very good team, but I'll have to admit I didn't think they were that good. I have been coaching in this league for 6 years and they are by far the best team I have seen in those 6 years. They have size, speed and quickness. They do not miss tackles and their offense can hurt you in the air or on the ground. We had no chance on Saturday and it showed early and often. I have not seen the tape of the game yet due to some video problems, but will be watching it tomorrow and can give more game details and stats after that. I will say that we were totally outmatched at almost every position on the field. I am proud of our kids effort. They did not quit and kept fighting until the very last play. I expect us to have a good week at practice and ready to put this one behind us. 

Darin Davenport    9 carries     44 yards      

Robert Marquet    4 carries     10 yards     

Drew Yarbrough    2 carries      4 yards      

James Clayton      2 carries      4 yards 

Our offensive player of the week for last week was James Clayton. Our backfield didn't do much, do to the speed of the Webb defense, but when we did make some yardage, it was James leading the way with his blocking. James threw some great blocks against Webb as he paved the way for his backfield teammates. So much of our success in the backfield depends on how well those guys block for each other and James has done a great job of that so far. We are very proud of you James!

Our defensive player of the week for week 2 of the season is Ryan Beallis. Ryan has done a great job at linebacker so far for us this season. He is one of the best tacklers on the team and always seems to be around the ball. He had several tackles against Webb in the game on Saturday and always is out there giving 110%. Great job Ryan. We are very proud of you!