October 11, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County Tigers will step outside the region tonight (Friday) to host the Smith County Owls in Smithville.
The Tigers enter the game at 3-4 with a 31-0 loss last week on the road at Livingston Academy. The Owls sport a 4-2 record and are coming off a 38-19 win against Sequatchie County.
(Click link below to hear Tiger Talk)
Although the Tigers kept the game close for more than a half last week against Livingston Academy, Tiger Coach Steve Trapp said the offensive performance was obviously lacking.
“Really the first half the way we played defensively was a big positive and even halfway through the third quarter it was still 10-0 but you can’t keep giving an offense like Livingston Academy has the short side of the field and not do anything with it. Offensively was not a good performance for us at all and special teams wasn’t really good either as far as punting and getting the ball out of there. When you are only doing one phase out of the three with a little bit of success then ultimately it just keeps getting harder and harder. I think our guys played hard but we have to try to get things put together like we did the previous couple of weeks,” said Coach Trapp.
As the Tigers turn their focus on Smith County tonight, Coach Trapp said they will see a squad much like them.
“What they do is very similar to what we do. You’ll get some four wide, trips, two by one, and shotgun formations and even their goal line package is similar to ours. Defensively they show different looks in the back end of it but there are some things I think we can line up in and if they continue to do what they have shown then we have chances to have success. Really it all starts up front. Our offensive line has to rebound from the performance they had last week. They (Owls) have a front with some meat in the middle and athletes on the edge so we have to make sure we are ready for that. I think if we can take care of business up front it allows everything to work in a much better fashion,” said Coach Trapp.
Smith County has defeated Macon County 13-9, Gordonsville 49-20, York Institute 34-12, and Sequatchie County 38-19. The Owls have lost to Upperman 42-0 and Livingston Academy 38-13.
DeKalb County has beaten Stone Memorial 33-0, Grundy County 49-12, and Cannon County 41-10 and lost to Warren County 35-21, Upperman 35-0, Watertown 42-20, and Livingston Academy 31-0.
Kick-off will be Friday night at 7 p.m.
WJLE’s pre-game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5 p.m. featuring former coaches Doug Matthews, Dave McGinnis, and broadcaster Larry Stone.
“Murphy’s Matchups” airs at 6 p.m. featuring the Guru of Tennessee High School Football Murphy Fair.
“Tiger Talk” begins at 6:30 p.m. featuring DCHS Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger Football Players Alan Munoz, Daniel Puckett, and Bryan Portillo. John Pryor, the Voice of the Tigers, is the host of the program.
WJLE’s “LIVE” play by play coverage starts at 7 p.m. with 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.