Daingerfield handles Queen City, moves to 3-1 with two left

Daingerfield traveled to Queen City Friday evening, looking to rebound from their first district loss the previous week. The Tigers did rebound, and in a big way, as they defeated the Bulldogs, 49- 17.

In a night where Queen City’s Smith-Wall Stadium was bathed in pink as the Bulldogs honored Breast Cancer Awareness, the Tigers came out looking to solidify their position in the district race. The game started with the now routine song and dance of a coin toss: Daingerfield wins the toss, and elected to defer. Less than a minute into the game, the Tiger defense pounced on a Bulldog fumble, setting up the Tigers first series on the opponent’s 16 yard line. After a 24 yard touchdown pass from Reggie Jeter to Cedric Arthur, the Tigers were up, 6-0. After a huge kickoff return, Queen City was able to knock down a 39 yard field goal, to make the score 6-3.

On the Tigers’ next series, long runs by Markevian Grant and Keiston Rushing would set up a 17 yard touchdown run for Grant. Following the two point conversion, Daingerfield held a 14-3 lead. Rushing would score on the Tigers’ next possession on a 22 yard run, making the score 21-10. Queen City would score one more time before the half, making the score 21-17. That would be the last time the Bulldogs would see the end zone.

The Tigers were not able to do much on their first series of the second half, going three and out before punting to Queen City. The Tigers’ forced a fumble deep in Bulldog territory, setting up Rushing’s four yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs showed some life on the ensuing kickoff return, but were unable to do much offensively, and the third quarter would end with a 28-17 advantage for the Tigers.

With the game all but put away, Daingerfield continued to solidify their offense, with Grant adding touchdown runs of nine and 34 yards, while Rushing added an eight yard touchdown run, bringing the final score to 49-17 for Daingerfield.

With two games left in district play, Coach Mike Waldie stressed to his players that they control their own destiny. “New Diana is a tough team, who feels that they can win out and make the playoffs. We have to take their hearts out of it early next week,” said Waldie. The Tigers will host the New Diana Eagles on Oct. 28, when they will also honor their seniors prior to the game.