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Tigers win to move on to district title game
It is playoff time. Win or go home. After a bye week in the first round of District 1 Class II playoffs, the Caruthersville Tigers faced the Charleston Blue Jays. The winner of Friday night’s game moves on to the district playoffs. Caruthersville overtook the Charleston Blue Jays 66-28 to move on to the district playoffs next Friday.
Tigers kicked the ball off to start the game. The kick went out of bounds and the Blue Jays started their first drive near the 30-yard line. It only took two plays for the Blue Jays to move the chains, gaining their first down. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to do it again, as the Blue Jay QB threw an interception, which was caught by Demarco Slaughter. This gave the Tigers possession of the ball near mid-field. The Tigers quickly made a first down within 2 plays, and then another. Charles Goliday called his own number on the next several plays and completed several first downs, which put the Tigers at a first and goal. A few more plays and Goliday marched into the end zone for the first score of the game. The point after was good. With 8:56 left in the first quarter, the Tigers led 7-0.
The Tigers kick-off was deep and only returned to the 27-yard line. The Blue Jays didn’t get far and after only one first down they had a 3 and out, punting toward the Tigers line. But the punt was short, and the Blue Jays recovered giving them another opportunity to start again marching toward the end zone. After only a few plays, they achieved their goal, making a touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion. With 5:45 left in the first quarter, the Blue Jays took a one-point lead over the Tigers. Charleston 8-7.
The Tigers received the kickoff and quickly started making downs. A steady march down field got the Tigers into scoring range. With only a yard to go, Charles Goliday carried the ball for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the extra point attempt was blocked. Only 2:11 left in the first quarter and the Tigers were back on top 13-8. The Tigers again kicked the ball deep. With only a first down attained by the Blue Jays, the horn sounded to end the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers led 13-8.
As the second quarter started, the Blue Jays continued toward the end zone, steadily making downs and taking time off the clock as they moved closer to their goal. They eventually made it to a first and goal and the Blue Jays ran the ball in for a touchdown.
The two-point conversion attempt was no good, but the goal still put the Blue Jays one-point ahead of the Tigers. With 8:20 left in the half, the score was 14-13 Blue Jays. The Blue Jay kickoff was short, and the Tigers took over near the 45-yard line. The Tigers made some short plays but made a first down with the aid of a Blue Jay penalty. The addition of the extra yardage gave the Tigers the push they needed to continue heading toward their end zone. Just as the first quarter was dominated by Charles Goliday rushing, the second quarter was ruled by Nick Moore. Goliday continued handing the ball off to Moore with great success. The final push was a 14-yard run by Nick Moore for a touchdown. The point after was no good. With 6:31 left in the half, the Tigers retook the lead 19-14.
After the kickoff, Charleston made steady progress toward the end zone, but they were not as successful as they had been. The Tigers forced them to punt. Demarco Slaughter caught the Blue Jay punt and ran it 64 yards for another Tiger touchdown. The Tiger point after was good. With 5:02 left in the half, the Tigers expanded their lead to 26-14. The Tigers again kicked the ball deep forcing Charleston to return the ball from near their end zone. They returned the ball to near the 30-yard line before being stopped. Charleston managed a first down on the next passing play. This play would have also been a first down, but a penalty brought the ball back and the down had to be replayed.
The replay pass was unsuccessful, then another penalty, and another incomplete pass caused the Blue Jays to kick the ball off. The Charleston punt was short, which gave the Tigers good field position The Tigers made some yardage on their first two plays, but again Charleston committed a penalty allowing for the Tigers to gain a first down. The Tigers were not able to take advantage of the extra yards given them. The Tiger QB fumbled a handoff and Charleston recovered. Unfortunately, Charleston was unable to keep the ball for long as they too fumbled the ball and the Tigers recovered. This placed the Tigers again within striking distance of the end zone. After a few successful Tiger plays, Charles Goliday ran the ball in for his third touchdown of the night. Unfortunately, the point after was no good. With only 48 seconds left in the half, the Tigers led 32-14. The kickoff was returned to the 33-yard line and Charleston hurried to the line for a quick play. After a short pass, they again hurried to the line, this time, the Tigers defensive tackle, Jermaine Hollywood, sacked the QB. After the loss of yardage, Charleston again quickly hurried to the line, but only managed a few yards before being stopped and then the horn sounded to end the half. The teams went to the locker room with the Tigers in the lead 32-14.
Both teams stormed back to the field to start the second half. The Tigers received the kickoff and returned the ball to near the 40-yard line. After a couple short carries, the Tigers made a first down. Unfortunately, the next play saw a Tiger fumble and Charleston recovery. The added confidence of taking the ball from Caruthersville allowed Charleston to continue towards their end zone. Even with a sack and a recovered fumble they were able to make their way down the field. Charleston even managed a 4th down pass completion which gave them a first down to get them closer to their end zone. Another pass completion and Charleston ran the final 12-yards into the end zone for the first score of the second half. The two-point conversion was no good. With 6:31 left in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers lead had been narrowed to 32-22. On the first play after the kickoff return, the Tigers tuned the ball over. The Blue Jays took advantage, scoring a quick touch down on the blunder. Again, the two-point conversion was no good. The Tiger lead was further reduced to 32-28.
After a shaky start to the second half, a Tiger RB slipped and fumbled the ball, but was able to recover. The next pass was completed, and Nick Moore again became a dominant force on the field; he took handoffs for first down after first down. A Nick Moore run for a TD was brought back due to a holding penalty, but Chris Smith quickly took over the running game, making up for the lost Tiger touch down on the next play. The two-point conversion was no good. The Tigers led 38-28 with 1:03 left in the third quarter. The kick off was downed near the 35. Charleston took over, made a couple plays, fumbled and recovered, but didn’t make much progress before the end of the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the Tigers lead 38-28.
The shaky end of the 3rd quarter for Charleston translated into a disastrous start to the fourth quarter. Another fumble, this time with a Tiger recovery, saw the beginning of the end for the Charleston team. Tigers Nick Moore took the ball for a 31-yard touchdown run. The point after was good and the beginning of the fourth quarter saw the Tigers add to their lead. With 11:40 left in the game, Caruthersville led 45-28. Charleston downed the kickoff and the first passing play was picked off by the Tigers. Charles Goliday made the interception and ran the ball to the end zone for another Tiger touchdown. The point after was good. Tigers led 53-28 with 10:11 left in the game. Again, Charleston tried to make something on their possession. Each play only gained them short yardage, causing them to eventually turn the ball over on downs. The combination of Nick Moore and Charles Goliday gave Caruthersville another run at the end zone. Nick Moore ran the ball down to near the 5 which gave the Tigers a short carry on the next play. Charles Goliday made the short run for a touchdown. The point after was good. With 7:03 left in the game, Caruthersville led 59-28. Charleston was not going to go quietly, they made several first downs on their next possessions. They made each play count and tried to gain back some of the lost momentum. Unfortunately, they eventually gave the ball up on downs. After a short passing play by the Tigers, Demarco Slaughter ran the ball nearly 60 yards to give the Tigers the nail for Charleston’s season coffin. The next play saw Nick Moore take the ball the rest of the way into the Tiger end zone for the last score of the game with 1:56 left on the clock, the Tigers led 66-28. Charleston was not given much opportunity to make any gains on the field and the buzzer sounded to end the game before Charleston had much chance to attempt a run at the end zone.
Charleston ended the season 6-5. Caruthersville (8-2) will play Malden (10-1) for the District championship at Hopke Field, Friday, November 3 at 7 pm. The winner of that game will move on to State quarter finals.
After the game, Coach Jimmy Jackson, said he was proud of the way the team came back after letting Charleston get back into the game. On Charleston, “The last game (regular season) was 66-22, it was actually kind of similar... They have some good players, they have some good athletes.” Looking forward to the upcoming Malden game, Coach Jackson said, “It is what it is, kinda rivalry-ish, you know, a lot of intensity in that game. We have had fun playing them over the years. Ready to do it again…The first time around we played them with intensity, we fought hard as a team. We’re going to come out on the field and do what we do”