GROVETON — The opening night for the newly turfed Indian Stadium did not go as planned as the Indians were steamrolled 61-6 by the Lovelady Lions on Friday.
Head Coach Scott Green said the team had great preparation all week but got in the game and decided to not follow our rules.
“Defensively, we knew they were gonna come right at us, and we needed to respond a little better than we did,” Green said. “We have our eyes in the backfield, and when you do that, you have a tendency to give up the big ball.”
Offensively, the Indians put themselves in a hole early, and they still need to be more aggressive in the box, Green said.
“Understanding my rules and assignments goes a long way,” he said.
The front five played pretty solid, giving quarterback Ty Torregrossa an opportunity to get the ball out of his hands in pass protection. Green also said Tristin Ard played solid on both sides of the ball; Ramello Wolfe had a good night at running back and also at corner; and Jett Arbuckle turned his game up at outside linebacker.
“We understand we have to get better weekly, on both sides of the ball,” he said. “Do what we ask you to do and nothing else.”
By Scott Womack
TCNS correspondent
SARATOGA — Coming off a nail-biting victory over Groveton, the Tigers traveled to West Hardin to face the Oilers. With just two games remaining before district play begins, the Tigers hoped to clean up previous mistakes and continue to make strides forward in their quest for a playoff run.
The Tigers started the game on defense and allowed the Oilers to take 6 minutes off the clock and drive to the Tiger 18-yard line before Landon Sweeting ended their drive with an interception at the goal line. With the 24-yard return, the Tiger offense took the field. Taking 3 minutes off the clock, the Tigers were able to put together a 76-yard scoring drive highlighted by a Terian Maxie 16-yard touchdown run. Adding the 2-point conversion, the Tigers took an early 8-0 lead.
The Tiger defense was able to force two consecutive punts by the Oilers and put together a 3-play scoring drive that included a 36-yard reception to Jamarian Corley and a 33-yard touchdown run by Corde’ Walker. The 2-point try was unsuccessful and the Tigers led 14-0 with 9:38 left in the 2nd quarter. The Tigers were able to again find the end zone in the first half with a 4-play 74-yard drive with Corley punching in in from 2 yards out after a 26-yard reception by Walker and a 43-yard run from Maxie. Going into the locker room at halftime, the Tigers led 20-0.
After receiving the opening kick to begin the second half, the Tigers fumble the ball on the Oiler 16-yard line, but on the next play they were able to force an Oiler fumble and set up a 3-play scoring drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Maxie. Leading 26-0, the Tigers and Oilers were able to keep each other from scoring the remaining of the quarter. The Oiler offense was able to find some holes in the defense and put together a 12-yard scoring drive and get on the scoreboard 26-6 with 3:25 left in the game.
On the ensuing Tiger possession, the Tigers took 3 minutes off the clock and moved the ball 56-yards for the final score of the evening, a 30-yard reception to Cove Copley. With 33 seconds left in the game the Oilers came out passing the ball and the final play of the game was an interception by Darryn Bass.
After the 32-6 victory the coaches addressed the team and stressed the importance of correcting the errors and continue it improve with each practice and game.
Jamarion Corley, Terian Maxie, Cove Copley and Corde’ Walker helped provide the 528 total yards of offense, while Keadric Spillman led the defense with 9 tackles, followed by Chance Barron with 8.
The Tigers return home Friday night as the Hemphill Hornets come to Tiger Stadium for the final non-district game at 7 p.m.
The Eagles suffered a 41-26 loss to Houston Second Baptist on Friday.
Defensively for Apple Springs, Peyton Williams had 7 tackles, 3 assists, 1 tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery; Bradyn Kaufman had 9 tackles, 5 assists, and 3 tackles for loss; Rance Howell had 3 tackles, and 4 assists; Joseph Ocasiones had 5 tackles, 3 assists, and a 62-yard interception for TD; Ethan Leblanc had 5 tackles, 2 assists, and a tackle for loss; and Blaize McSwain had 6 tackles, 3 assists, and 2 fumble recoveries.
On offense, Kayden Roden completed 8 of 31 passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Peyton Williams caught 3 for 44 yards and 1 touchdown; Rance Howell caught 2 for 71 yards and 1 touchdown; Blaize McSwain caught 1 for 49 yards and 1 touchdown; and Joseph Ocasiones caught 1 for 21 yards.
On the ground, Bradyn Kaufman rushed twice for 31 yards, and Blaize McSwain ran twice for 18 yards.
Peyton Williams posted an onside kick recovery.
