Tigers bested by No. 1 Gilmer Buckeyes

By Nick Counts

GILMER – When looking at the scoreboard at the end of a game, from time to time that score doesn’t truly show how the game went.
This was true on Saturday as the Daingerfield Tigers fell to the Gilmer Buckeyes 54-27 in a rain-delayed matchup that was set for Gilmer’s homecoming.
The Tigers had ideas of throwing the Buckeye party plans off, and strode hard with those plans throughout the first half.
The Big Blue defense hammered against the Number One State Ranked Gilmer offense all throughout the game, coming up with big play after big play including four first half sacks.
Gilmer scored the first two touchdowns of the game as they picked up seven on their first drive right off the bat a mere three minutes into the game.
Daingerfield fought back, however, as Calvin Bryant had a huge kickoff return into Gilmer territory.
The Tiger offense went to work, moving the ball down to a third and one deep into Buckeye land, but an interception on a Keris Alexander pass shut down the drive.
The Daingerfield defense stepped up to the plate, correcting the offensive miscue.
After the Buckeyes picked up two first downs, the Big Blue swarmed over the Gilmer offense to sack quarterback Tanner Barr two times in a row for losses of three yards and five yards respectively.
The battered Barr threw an incomplete pass to end the drive and a punt gave the ball back to the Tigers.
The Tigers quickly went to work as Keynon Whetstone took the first play from scrimmage at the quarterback position and moved the ball 30 yards on a keeper. The Tigers then picked up another first down on a 15-yard face mask penalty as Cordarious Anderson fought for extra yardage.
However, mistakes came back to haunt the Tigers as a fumbled snap to QB at the time Malik Higgins was picked up by Gilmer’s Darrian Lewis and was returned for a touchdown putting the Buckeyes up early 14-0
The Daingerfield offense took a bit of time to get their feet under them as their next drive also ended in a Gilmer Buckeye recovered fumble.
However, the defense once again saved face for the Tigers.
 

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