August 24, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County Tiger football program has a four-game win streak over the Smith County Owls since 2019 and are hoping to make it five wins in a row Friday night as they host their northern border rivals in the first home game of the 2023 regular season under brand new lighting and in a stadium with a new set of expanded bleacher seating and larger press box.
The start time of the game has been changed from 7 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. due to this week’s oppressive heat and humidity. WJLE will have LIVE coverage on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and on the LIVE Stream at www.wjle.com with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby.
Last year’s game between the Tigers and Owls went right down to the wire with a game winning field goal in the closing seconds to give DC a 17 to 14 victory.
Smith County will be no pushover again this year. The Owls won their season opener at Gordonsville last week 25-19.
The Tigers will have to shake-off last week’s 34-27 loss at Warren County, but Coach Steve Trapp believes the team has put that disappointment behind them.
“It was another one of those games where, at the end of the night we had to tell our players, you played hard enough to win but you made too many mistakes to be victorious. A lot of credit goes to Warren County because they continued to play. We started off about as good as you could start with four plays and two touchdowns, and our defense had a lot of stops. I hope the biggest lesson these guys learned was that each individual play is a game within itself, and you have to stay locked in and focused. I hope they learned a lot about themselves. There have been a lot of games where we have been just a little bit short. I don’t like that feeling. It’s a gut punch but I have a lot of confidence in these guys. They have bounced back as far as the way we have prepared, and we are excited to get back out there and try to get this taste out of our months,” said Coach Trapp.
After four straight losses to the Tigers, Coach Trapp knows the Owls will be hungry for a win against them.
“They have been a good football program for many years and there have been some really good football games between us. Coach Dyer does a great job down there. They are a big team, and they have a lot of seniors. I was looking at their starters today and offensively ten of them are seniors, so they have a lot of experience. They have a freshman quarterback, but he has a great skill set. He can throw it. He does the RPO. He’ll tuck it and run it. You have to be in place in every single facet when you are on defense. Offensively for us, they fly to the ball, and they are big up front on that side. It’s all the same guys over there so we understand what kind of game we are in for. That was the kind of game we were in for last year. We are up for the challenge. I have a lot of confidence in our guys that we can go out here and if we do what we are supposed to do the way we are supposed to do it I have confidence we can get the job done,” said Coach Trapp.
WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with Tennessee Titans Radio Broadcaster Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.
“Coach to Coach” is followed by “Murphy’s Matchups at a special time this week at 6:30 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches’ interviews.
“Tiger Talk” airs at a special time this week at 7:00 p.m. with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor interviewing Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football players Jordan Parker, Chris Pulley, and Austin Nicholson.
Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. with play-by-play coverage on WJLE from the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby. Listen LIVE on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE Streaming at www.wjle.com.
Last week’s Tiger offensive stats as provided by Coach Trapp:
RUSHING:
Malachi Trapp-16 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown
Briz Trapp-15 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns
Ari White-1 carry for 1 yard
TOTAL: 32 carries for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns
RECEIVING:
Malachi Trapp- 2 catches for 26 yards
Jordan Parker- 4 catches for 22 yards
Jon Hendrix- 2 catches for 13 yards
Marquez Chalfant- 1 catch for 23 yards
Trace Hamilton-1 catch for 22 yards
TOTAL: 10 catches for 106 yards and 1 touchdown
RETURNS (KO AND PR)
Marquez Chalfant- 3 returns for 61 yards
Ryan Lyons- 2 returns for 39 yards
TOTAL: 5 RETURNS FOR 100 yards
GAME TOTAL: 47 PLAYS FOR 443 YARDS AND 4 TOUCHDOWNS
PUNTS:
Marquez Chalfant- 4 punts for 132 yards (2 inside 20)
EXTRA POINTS: Adrian Prater 3 for 3
FIRST DOWNS: 15