TATUM DROPS DAINGERFIELD | Eagles stun Tigers, 34-14, to top another state-ranked opponent
DAINGERFIELD – For the second straight week, the Tatum High School Eagles shocked a state-ranked team.
And this time, no lightning was needed.
The Eagles came in and – no joke – dominated the team that was ranked No. 3 in the state in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Class 3A, Division II poll, owning the Daingerfield Tigers from the get-go and leaving Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium here on Thursday night with a 34-14 win that was even more lopsided than the final score indicated.
It was the second straight week, as mentioned, and the second straight Thursday that coach Whitney Keeling’s Eagles did so: in week one, they dropped Winnsboro like a bad habit, 29-14, in Tatum, a lightning-delayed game shortened to a half.
Tatum, now 2-0 on the season, hits the road – the long road – to Newton next Friday night, Friday the 13th, if you will, and returns home on Sept. 20 to host West Rusk.
The Eagles took the game’s opening kickoff, start the drive at their own 28-yard-line, and avoided disaster when they fumbled the snap on second down.
A Daingerfield penalty moved them to midfield and on the next first down play, Tatum’s Cayden Tatum would bust a good run for another first down. The Eagles kept the ball moving, on the ground and into the red zone. Tatum fumbled the pitch but recovered and on the next play, Dameon Pippins would punch it in the end zone for a touchdown.
The two point conversion would fall short, but Tatum had a 6-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first quarter over another state-ranked team.
Tatum’s Abel Aguirre would kick off and Dangerfield’s C.T. Elkins would return the short kick to the 42-yard line to start the drive for the Tigers. Chase Johnson, Daingerfield’s quarterback, got the pass off for a completion, but there was a fumble on the play.
The ball would be recovered by Tatum’s Grant Adcock, setting the Eagles up for business at the Daingerfield 43. The Eagles would run the ball 3 times but couldn’t really get much going and on fourth down, would go for it, but a false start would back them up and they would punt.
Cayden Tatum downed the punt inside Daingerfield’s 5, setting the Tigers up for the drive at their own 2.
A pitch to Ashton Williams was blown up by Tatum’s Qwardai’ Peoples for a loss but an incomplete pass would set up fourth down. After the punt, on first down from near midfield, Tatum’s Cayden Tatum burst free to Daingerfield’s 24. The Tigers would take a time out with 2:29 left in the first quarter – but the break would do them little good. On the next play, Tatum quarterback JaCorie Bradley found Luke Sigler for the 24-yard score.
Bradley scooted into the end zone for the two-point conversion, giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead with 2:22 left in the quarter.
It appeared Daingerfield had scored on their next drive, a 23-yard pass from Johnson to Reign Wallace, but it would be called back on a holding penalty.
In the second quarter, Johnson picked up a first down with his legs, but false start penalties beset the drive, back-to-back false start penalties, to be exact.
Daingerfield did convert the first down after all that, with 8:35 left in the half and down two touchdowns, but Johnson’s pass to Wallace from Tatum’s 10-yard-line was incomplete – and on the next play, while scrambling, Johnson lost the ball. It was recovered by Tatum’s Carlos Hernandez, at Tatum’s 15-yard-line, ending the threat and preserving the Eagles’ 14-0 lead, with 7:42 left in the half.
Tatum began to put together a smash-mouth running game with Jamarri Gipson and Pippins, picking up a pair of first downs.
Before the half was up, Tatum would go up three scores: a 1-yard run by Gipson, for a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the half. Daingerfield blocked the extra point, but would go into the half down 20-0.
Both teams’ possessions to begin the second half would end in punts.
Eventually, someone would make a play, and that someone would be Tatum captain Sigler, who picked off a pass by Johnson and returned to the Daingerfield 15-yard-line.
Gipson would get the call on the first down play, and moved the ball to the 7-yard-line for Tatum. Two plays later, and Gipson was standing in the end zone after a 4-yard score.
Abelardo Ventura hit the extra point, and with 6:12 left in the third quarter, the Eagles now held what looked to be a comfortable 27-0 lead.
Elkins got a good return to the 42 to start the drive for the Tigers, but instantly Daingerfield was deflated by yet another turnover. Williams ran to the right side, and fumbled – it was recovered by Tatum at the 45-yard-line.
Bradley found Joran Chambers for a big gain, all the way to the 19. On third down and short, Cayden Tatum took the ball into scoring position, down to the Tigers’ 3-yard line.
And it would be Gipson with a run up the middle for the 3-yard score. Ventura hit the point after, and Tatum was up 34-0, with 3:12 left in the third.
Daingerfield’s Trent Boyd returned the ensuing kickoff for a score, finally putting the Tigers on the scoreboard. The two-point conversion was missed, leaving Daingerfield with just six points, rather than seven.
On Daingerfield’s next possession, the quarterback, Chase Johnson, ran for 19 yards to Tatum’s 19, then completed a pass to Wallace to move the ball to Tatum’s 1.
The Tigers did punch it in, and the two point conversion would be good as Johnson would find Williams, making the score 34-14 with 7:54 left.
That would be the final, and Daingerfield, once the No. 2 team in the state, is now off to an 0-2 start. Tatum, not ranked and not necessarily thought of as the top team in its own district, now must be thought of as a team to deal with.