8/30/13 TIGERS 28 Mountain View Liberty 60 A hot, muggy, mosquito-infested night at Hopke Field as two of the best teams in Missouri Class 2 met to open the 2013 season. An evenly matched 1st half turned into a route in the 2nd half, as the Tigers simply could not stop the Eagles air-assault. The Tigers, wearing their red over red unis would receive to opening kick from the all-white clad Eagles. The Tigers started from their own 37. Tiger senior Darrell Monroe would get the first carry of the season, and ran for 6 yards. Monroe carried for 2 on 2nd down. On third and 3, Tiger senior QB Tyler Grissom moved the chains with a 5 yard run. Monroe then carried for 6. Sophomore Rodrick Jones then ran for 6, down to the Liberty 38. Grissom carried for 1 yard. On 2nd and 9, the Tigers would fumble, giving the ball to the Eagles on the Liberty 35. The Eagles would quickly go 3 and punt, with an incomplete pass and 2 Bryan Porter carries netted 1 yard. Following the punt, the Tigers took over on their own 20. A Tiger penalty moved the ball back to the 15. As Tiger fans have become accustomed to in recent years, it didn't take the Tigers long to cover the 85 yards. Monroe carried for 31, followed by a 34 yard run by Jones. Jones then carried for 3. Monroe would then score from the 17. The PAT failed. TIGERS 6 Liberty 0 Liberty would start their next drive from their own 34, but on 1st down the Tigers forced a fumble and recovered at the Liberty 37. Monroe carried for 2, and Grissom then ran for 2. Rod Jones had another great carry for a 29 yard gain. Grissom then ran for 2 to the Liberty 2, but yet another Tiger penalty would move the ball back to the 7. Grissom carried twice for a net gain of 1 setting up a 4th and goal from the 6. Grissom's pass was deflected by an Eagle defender right into the waiting arms of Tiger Senior, Colt Callens. Touchdown Tigers. The 2 point play failed, but the Tigers led, 12-0. The score seemed to light a fire under the Liberty offense, who would take over from their own 35. Liberty senior QB Jaelon Acklin carried for 25. Then he carried for 8 more. Junior Bryan Porter then ran for 13. Acklin was stopped for no gain. Porter carried for 4. Then, something happened that would happen many times again…Acklin found senior James Denton with a 19 yard TD pass. The PAT failed, but Liberty was on the board, 12-6. The next Tiger drive started from the Tigers' 47 (as almost all night, Liberty chose not to kick the ball deep). The Tigers moved the ball well, with the drive basically being stopped by another Tiger penalty. Monroe was stopped for a loss of 2 on 1st down. Grissom hit junior Jeremy Grant with a 13 yard pass, and then found junior Hunter Trevathan with a 6 yard pass. Grissom then carried for 4 yards and a 1st down. An incomplete pass on 1st down, and then Monroe carried for 7 yards, setting up a 3rd and 3. A Tiger receiver moved, and instead of 3rd and 3 it was now 3rd and 8. Grissom threw an incomplete pass on 3rd down, and then on 4th down hit Tiger senior Abdule Johnson with a 7 yard pass…one yard shy of the 1st. It sure didn't take Liberty long to cover the 80 yards. An offsides penalty gave the Eagles 5. Then Acklin passed to Denton for 59 yards. Porter ran for 9. Then Acklin to Denton again for the 7 yard TD. Denton added the PAT giving the Eagles the lead, 12-13. After another short kick, the Tigers took over from midfield. Monroe ran for 8, and then for 1. Jones gained just enough to give the Tigers a 1st down. But the Tiger drive would quickly stall after an incomplete pass, a 1 yard Colt Callens run, and a 1 yard Callens reception. The Tigers punted, with Denton receiving the punt at his own 5 yardline. It REALLY didn't take the Eagles long to score from their, as Acklin weaved and bobbed his way through the Tiger punt coverage team for an amazing 95 yard punt return. Denton added the PAT, increasing the Eagle lead to 12-20. The Tigers began from their own 35, but moved backward after a loss of 2 by Grissom and another Tiger penalty. On 3rd and 20, Grissom hit Monroe with a perfect strike between 2 defenders, and Monroe raced into the endzone for a 65 yard score. Tiger senior Jamal Johnson, added the 2 point run, and the Tigers knotted the scored at 20-20. The Eagles would immediately untie that knot, when Acklin hit Denton with, ironically, a 65 yard TD pass. Denton was not too out of breath, and added the PAT, giving the Eagles a 20-27 lead. The Tigers quickly went 3 and punt, and the Eagles would drive the ball deep…very deep into Tiger territory. But facing a 1st and goal from the 6, the Tiger defense held, stopping the Eagles at the 3 on 4th down. Monroe carried for 13, Jamal Johnson carried for 12, and then half came to an end. The 3rd quarter would see the Tigers get a taste of the medicine that they have been dishing out to others in recent years, as the Eagles would score 3 times before the quarter was halfway over. Acklin to Denton for 45 yards. Denton added the PAT. 20-34 Tigers go 3 and punt, with the punt being blocked. Acklin to Denton for 28 yards. PAT failed. 20-40 Then the Eagles shook things up a bit when Acklin flipped the ball to Denton, who threw a 32 yard TD pass to junior Jansen Acklin. The 2point run was stuffed by the Tigers, but Liberty was now in complete control, leading 20-46. Tiger Pride showed up, as the Tigers quickly moved the ball downfield on their next possession. Grissom for 9. Monroe for 24. Jones for 32. Then, Jamal Johnson would take it in on a 7 yard TD run. Monroe added the 2 point run, cutting into the Eagles lead, 28-46. Unfortunately for Tiger fans, that would be the last score of the night for the Tigers. The Eagles added scores in the 4th quarter when Acklin broke loose for a 60 yard run. Denton added the PAT. 28-53 Following several nice Porter runs, Acklin would race into the endzone one last time, from 8 yards out. Denton added the PAT, making the score 28-60, which is where it would remain until the clock expired. SCORING SUMMARY 1st Quarter: 5:35 TIGERS: Darrell Monroe 17 yard run PAT fails TIGERS 6 Eagles 0 1:42 TIGERS: Tyler Grissom 6 yard pass to Colt Callens 2point fails TIGERS 12 Eagles 0 2nd Quarter: 11:54 Eagles: Jaelon Acklin 19 yard pass to James Denton PAT fails TIGERS 12 Eagles 6 8:09 Eagles: Acklin 7 yard pass to Denton Denton PAT TIGERS 12 Eagles 13 5:19 Eagles: Acklin 95 yard punt return Denton PAT TIGERS 12 Eagles 20 3:18 TIGERS: Grissom 65 yard pass to Monroe Jamal Johnson run TIGERS 20 Eagles 20 3:07 Eagles: Acklin 65 yard pass to Denton Denton PAT TIGERS 20 Eagles 27 3rd Quarter: 10:21 Eagles: Acklin 45 yard pass to Denton Denton PAT 7:58 Eagles: Acklin 28 yard pass to Denton PAT fails 6:02 Eagles: Denton 32 yard pass to Jansen Acklin 2 point fails 4:14 TIGERS: Jamal Johnson 7 yard run Monroe run 4th Quarter: 9:41 Eagles: Acklin 60 yard run Denton PAT 5:53 Eagles: Acklin 8 yard run Denton PAT FINAL SCORE: TIGERS 28 Eagles 60 Some final thoughts on tonight's game: In no particular order…James Denton, Jaelon Acklin and Darrell Monroe are three of the top players in the state of Missouri…regardless of class. Each is physical, speedy, quick, and athletic. It was a pleasure to get to see them all shine tonight…although personally I would have preferred a little less shining from the Liberty guys! ;-) I talked to both Acklin and Dento after the game, and in addition to being great players, they seemed to be genuinely nice young men. Acklin and I promised to follow each other on Twitter! I am proud of my Tigers. The first half was about as evenly matched as it could have been. In the 2nd half when the Eagles started pulling away, the Tigers could have quit, but they didn't…they kept fighting until the end. Great effort fellas…you played a great game against an amazingly talented Class 2 team. That being said, there is still much work and improvement that needs to be done…in every aspect of the game…offense, defense, and special teams. I am more than confident that my Tigers will do the work and will show improvement throughout the season, much as they did last year. This game is over….learn from what you did right and learn from your mistakes. 2013 can be another banner year for the Tigers, so long as we continue to improve from week to week. The 0-1 Tigers will travel to Malden to take on the 1-0 Greenwave next Friday night. I hope to see a bunch of red and white wearing Tiger fans there next week! GO TIGERS GO!!! Once a Tiger…always a Tiger!!! Here are some "unofficial" stats from a few of those great athletes: Caruthersville: Monroe: 19 carries for 142 yards and a TD; 2 catches for 65 yards and a TD Rod Jones: 8 carries for 103 yards Liberty: Acklin: 13 for 18, 281 yards and 5 TDs; 8 carries for 112 yards and 2 TDs; and a 95 yard punt return for TD Denton: 8 catches for 234 yards and 5 TDs; 1 for 1 passing for 33 yards and a TD Porter: 20 carries for 104 yards Sent from my iPadCHS-L mailing list for friends and grads of Caruthersville Schools To subscribe or unsubscribe, send E-mail to j.y.miller@xxxxxxxxxxxxx