By Robert Blankenship
The Demopolis Times

In spite of four turnovers, a strong running game and defense led the charge for the Demopolis Tigers as they cruised to a 35-6 victory over region opponent Dallas County Friday night.

The Tigers ended the night with 243 rushing yards. A.J. Jackson and William Wilkins both had strong nights out of the backfield. Jackson took 19 handoffs for a total of 85 yards, scoring two touchdowns, while Wilkins went for 119 yards on only 11 carries, adding a touchdown.

Quarterback Logan McVay went 4-of-8 for 70 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Jones.

One problem area for the Tigers was in turnovers, where they fumbled the ball four times, but Dallas County (2-4) was unable to capitalize.

“If you told me before the game that we had created four turnovers, then I would’ve told you that we would have put points on the board and we would either be tied or ahead in the first half,” said Dallas County coach Marty Smith. “We made silly mistakes and we missed assignments and we have got to do a better job of execution when we create those turnovers.”

Demopolis got on the scoreboard early with its first possession, beginning the drive with a 12-yard pass from Logan McVay to Alexander Besteder to the 39. A.J. Jackson followed with a 9-yard run to the 30. Two plays later McVay found Tyler Jones open for a 28-yard touchdown. Clay McVay’s point-after lifted the Tigers to a 7-0 lead.

The defense forced a three-and-out, giving the Tigers possession at the 45 after a Hornets’ punt. Logan McVay, on the first play, found an opening for a big 30-yard gain all the way down to the 15. Jackson, the workhorse out of the backfield most of the night for the Tigers, followed with a 9-yard run to the 6. He would cap off the drive two plays later, making his way into the end zone from the 2-yard line. Clay McVay’s PAT gave Demopolis a 14-0 lead with 2:38 to go in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Tigers came out strong behind the running of A.J. Jackson who took most every handoff of the first drive, putting Demopolis in scoring position with a 21-yard gain to the 1 where he would finish it off plowing his way up the middle. The score lifted the Tigers to a 21-0 lead after the point-after.

Dallas County came right back on its first play from scrimmage with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Octavious Palmer to Kedrick Wilson to cut the lead to 21-6. The PAT was no good.

Demopolis took possession after the kickoff at its own 31-yard line. A 13-yard pass from L. McVay to Tyler Jones put Demopolis up 28-6 at the end of the third. Demopolis would add one more score midway through the fourth when Wilkins ran the ball in for a 5-yard touchdown. C McVay’s PAT would end the scoring with Demopolis earning the 35-6 victory. Dallas County hosts Marbury next week.