Daingerfield drops heartbreaker to White Oak, 29-28
By TONI WALKER
DAINGERFIELD – The Daingerfield Tigers rounded out their non-district schedule on Sept. 22, welcoming White Oak to Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium. After jumping out by 14 at halftime, the Tigers ended up dropping a heartbreaker, 29-28, to the visiting Roughnecks.
The Tigers won the coin toss and elected to defer. After Bello’s 60 yard kickoff was returned for 22 yards by White Oak, the Tigers’ defense continued where they left off the previous week, notching a seven yard sack by DK Lewis before Jakauri Wood picked off a White Oak pass for the first turnover of the game. The offense was unable to capitalize, going four and out on their first series. Quarterback Reggie Jeter punted the ball back to White Oak, dropping them at their own 17 yard line.
White Oak’s next series resulted in a 40 yard punt, which Trodarius Lynn returned for 30 yards to the Roughneck 30 yard line. Chris Castleberry fumbled the ball at the eight yard line, but the drive was salvaged when Khris Johnson recovered the ball near the end zone and returned it for a touchdown. Bello’s extra point was good, making the score 7-0 in Daingerfield’s favor.
The rest of the half was a back and forth battle, with neither team seemingly wanting to put the game away. The teams exchanged drives and punts. Then, with five minutes left in the half, Daingerfield caught lightning in a bottle. Facing third and long, the Tigers executed a reverse which culminated in a 44 yard reception from Woods to Jeter. The Tigers would capitalize on the drive with Jeter rushing for a touchdown just before halftime, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead going into the break.
As fast as the Tigers came out of the blocks in the first half, White Oak returned from the break with that same intensity. The Roughnecks put 21 points on the board in the third quarter before Daingerfield was able to answer. Following their third score of the quarter, Lynn took the ensuing kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown. After Bello’s point after was blocked, the Tigers had closed the gap to 21-20 heading into the fourth quarter.
After exchanging drives, the Tigers got the ball on their own 17 yard line with six minutes, 48 seconds left in the game. The ensuing Tiger drive ate up four and a half minutes and ended with the Tigers scoring on a 14 yard pass from Jeter to Timmyon Broner. The two-point conversion was good, giving the Tigers a 28-21 lead with two minutes left in the game. The Roughnecks methodically marched down the field before scoring with 23 seconds left in the game. The Tigers were unable to traverse the 59 yards for a score, and fell by the score of 29-28.
The Tigers will have their off week on Sept. 29. They will open district play in Omaha on Oct. 6 against the Pewitt Brahmas. They will play at home again Oct. 13 against the DeKalb Bears.
