November 11, 2013 TIGERS 60 Malden 18 For a nice change, an absolutely gorgeous November night at Hopke Field in Caruthersville as the Tigers played host to the Green Wave of Malden for the 2013 Class 2 District 1 Championship. For the 6th year in a row, and the 10th time in the last 11 years, the Caruthersville Tigers are the Class 2 District 1 Champions, winning in convincing fashion over the Green Wave, TIGERS 60 Malden 18. The Tigers, clad in their all red home uniforms would kick off to the Green Wave, clad in white jerseys and gold pants. The Wave would gain one first down before being forced to punt. The Tigers dominated all aspects of the game…including special teams. The Tigers were able to tackle the Malden punter before he could get off the kick, giving the Tigers the ball at the Malden 45 yard line. Rod Jones, starting in place of Darrell Monroe, would carry for 8 yards. Then Tyler Grissom hit Jamal Johnson with a short pass, and Jamal had an amazing run before finally being dragged down at the Malden 1. Grissom would score from the 1 on the next play. Colt Callens added the PAT. TIGERS 7 Malden 0 with 7:25 left in the 1st. Malden would answer quickly. Starting from their own 35, Nick Thompson carried for 5 yards. Jeremy Jones would then break loose for a 39 yard run, to the Tigers 21, and on the next play Thompson would score from 21 yards out. The Tigers stopped the 2 point run attempt. TIGERS 7 Malden 6 with 6:23 left in the 1st. The Tigers were able to move the ball on their next drive, with nice runs by Jones and Hunter Trevathan, but a Tiger penalty ultimately forced the Tigers to punt. Colt Callens did his job well, pinning Malden at their own 6. Again, it didn’t take Malden long to move the ball 94 yards downfield. Dremond Robinson carried for 18 yards, and then again for 48. Thompson had carries for 9, 11, and then from 8 yards out for the TD. The Tigers defense stopped Thompson on the 2point attempt, but Malden had snatched the lead from the Tigers, TIGERS 7 Malden 12 with 1:23 left in the 1st. Trevathan would return the kick to the Tigers 34. Jones carried for 20 yards to the Malden 46. Jamal Johnson then ran for 20 yards. Grissom then ran for 23 yards to the Malden 3. The Malden defense then stiffened and stuffed the Tigers on 3 consecutive running plays. On 4th and goal from the 2, the Tigers asked Callens to kick a 19 yard field goal. Callens answered, splitting the uprights from the left hashmark. TIGERS 10 Malden 12 10:33 left in the 1st half. Robinson had a carry for 9 yards, and then for 7 yards, before the Tiger defense stiffened, forcing a Malden punt. Another punting mishap for Malden when the snap sailed over the punters head, giving the Tigers the ball at the Malden 14. The Tigers capitalized on the mistake quickly, as Grissom scored on a 14 yard run. Grissom would also add a 2point run, giving the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish, TIGERS 18 Malden 12 with 7:05 left in the half. Another special teams mistake, as Malden fumbled the kickoff, giving the ball back to the Tigers in Malden territory. Nice runs by Jones, Trevathan and Jamal Johnson would set up Grissom’s 8 yard TD run. Trevathan would get the 2point run. TIGERS 26 Malden 12 with 5:10 left in the 2nd. The teams would trade a couple of possessions before the half would come to an end with the Tigers clinging to a 26-12 lead. Abdule Johnson had a nice kickoff return, giving the Tigers the ball at the Malden 48 to start the 2nd half. Jones carried for 4 yards. Grissom then passed to Jamal Johnson for 10 yards. Jamal would then have a 10 yard rush. Grissom ran for 4, and then for 6. Grissom would then fake another run and pass to Callens for a 14 yard TD. Callens’ PAT was no good, but the Tigers increased their lead to 32-12 with 8:36 left in the 3rd quarter. Malden would answer the Tigers score quickly, as Robinson broke loose for a 50 yard carry, and then would score on a 2 yard run. The 2point pass play failed. TIGERS 32 Malden 18. The Tigers returned the kickoff to their own 30. It took the Tigers 10 plays to cover the 70 yards, with an even mix of running and passing. Trevathan would get the TD call for the Tigers, from 9 yards out. Callens added the PAT. TIGERS 39 Malden 18 with 2:37 left in the 3rd. Malden would get the ball down to the Tigers 13 yardline on their next drive, before turning the ball over on downs. A Tiger penalty moved the ball back to the Tigers own 4. Not a problem…just give it to Jamal Johnson, watch him break a tackle, make a cut, and race 96 yards to the HOUSE. Callens added the PAT. TIGERS 46 Malden 18 with 8:52 left in the game. The Tiger defense would stuff Malden, with Landon Stricklin and Malik Monroe each registering a tackle for loss forcing a Malden punt, giving the Tigers the ball at the Tigers 40. The Tigers were also unable to keep the chains moving and punted back to Malden. Malden threw three incomplete passes, and then yet, another special teams mistake….punting the ball to Jamal Johnson. The punt was a high spiraling punt which drove Jamal back to his own 40, where he would catch the ball, make a beautiful move and simply outrun the Malden coverage team to the endzone. Callens added the PAT. TIGERS 53 Malden 18 The Tiger score started the dreaded “Turbo Clock” with 3:22 remaining. Malden threw a couple of incomplete passes, and then Tiger Peyton Faulkner picked off a pass at the Tigers 27 and returned it 73 yards for the TD! Callens added the PAT. TIGERS 60 Malden 18 with just 0:09 remaining. The Tigers kickoff would end the game. FINAL: TIGERS 60 Malden 18 The Tigers win pushes their season record to 10-1, with the lone loss being to #1 ranked Mountain View Liberty in week 1. MVL also won their District Championship tonight…congrats guys! There are now only 8 teams left in Class 2. On our side of the bracket: TIGERS; Lutheran North, Mountain View Liberty, and Lamar. TIGERS will travel to the St. Louis area to play Lutheran North. 2-time defending Missouri champs, Lamar will travel to Mountain View. The Tigers will travel to the St. Louis area and play Lutheran North Saturday afternoon. The Tigers hope to use an extra day to get everybody healthy! I certainly expect to see another great crowd of Tiger fans, as we again travel to the Gateway City for another tough quarterfinal battle. Safe travels to all! GO TIGERS GO!!! W. Keith Currie CHS Class of 1983