Tigers fall to White Oak, look to district play

The Daingerfield Tigers wound up their pre-district schedule on the road on Sept. 16. The Tigers traveled to White Oak, where they fell to the Roughnecks, 43-36.

The Tigers went into the game with White Oak fresh off their first win of the season after beating New Boston the previous week. The game in White Oak was the third away game in a row, following the opening season home loss to the Hughes Springs Mustangs.

The Tigers came out fighting, scoring on their first possession of the game to get within one of the Roughnecks. After a second score by White Oak, the Tigers intercepted a Roughneck pass and returned it for a touchdown. After the extra point, the score was 14-13 with four minutes left in the first quarter.

After several back and forth series, the Tigers were able to score again, after a third White Oak score. Extra points seemed hard to come by for the Tigers, and the missed PAT after their third score left the score at 21-19 at halftime.

Daingerfield opened the second half receiving the White Oak kickoff. With 11 minutes and 15 second left in the third quarter, Daingerfield’s Markevian Grant scored on a 63 yard touchdown run. Following the two-point conversion, the Tigers held their first lead of the game, 27-21. The Tigers followed that score with another interception. That interception led to another Tiger touchdown, but again the extra point attempt failed, leaving the Tigers 33-21 advantage.

The Tigers would continue fighting, but would ultimately come up short after numerous personal foul penalties stalled Tiger drives. Kicker Jose Bello would score the Tigers’ final points of the game on a 20-yard field goal to tie the score at 36, but the Tigers were unable to hold the White Oak offense out of the end zone one final time.

The Tigers will enjoy a well-deserved off week on Sept. 23 as they prepare to open up their district slate at home against the Paul Pewitt Brahmas. That game will also serve as the Tigers’ homecoming, and festivities will begin at 7 p.m. Kick-off for the matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.