TATUM’S SEASON COMES TO AN END | No. 1-ranked Malakoff tops Eagles, 62-13, in Tyler

This just in: Malakoff, ranked No. 1 in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s 3A, Division I poll for most of this season, is pretty good.

And unfortunately, Tatum found that out the hard way on Thursday night, here at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler.

The Eagles turned the ball over three times in the first half, and Malakoff scored on all three to build a 41-0 halftime lead – they’d go on to win the game, 62-13.

Tatum finishes its season with a 6-5 overall record, counting the one-half played against Winnsboro to open the season.

The Eagles scored both touchdowns in the second half, with running back Cayden Tatum doing his best Christian McCaffrey impersonation, a pair of touchdown catches from Jacorie Bradley.

But it was Malakoff who scored first, and often.

The Tigers got onto the scoreboard with 7:10 left in the first quarter, a 43-yard pass from Mike Jones to Parker Poteet.

Tatum punted on its first two possessions, and the Tigers’ second possession began at their own 32-yard-line. Jones hit Grayson Lee on first down, for a 7-yard gain, before the defensive front grabbed him. But Jones faked the hand-off on second down, and nobody would get him, a 61-yard run for Jones to the end zone.

Jacob Padron hit his second extra point of the night, and Malakoff had doubled its lead to 14-0 with 5 ½ minutes left in the first.

Tatum wasn’t having much success with its running game early, and then turned it over on the second play of the drive, a fumble that Malakoff recovered at Tatum’s 24-yard-line, a short field already with a two-touchdown lead.

Tigers running back Jason Tennyson got some good work in early, and after an incomplete pass on first down, Tennyson’s three carries had the Tigers at Tatum’s 2. But Davion Johnson got the scoring honors on the next play, the 2-yard touchdown. Padron’s kick made it 21-0 at the 2:32 mark of the first quarter.

Tatum quarterback Jacorie Bradley and the offense took over at their own 25 after the touchback, and Bradley took off on first down, all the way into Malakoff territory, to the Tigers’ 41 for 34 yards.

Cayden Tatum made it a more-manageable third and 7, but then the ball came out, again, on that third down and the ball came out. Malakoff again recovered it, this time at its own 43.

Tatum’s defense, namely Grant Adcock and Quincy Davis, grabbed Tennyson on a first-down screen pass and forced a second-and-10, then the entire defensive front collapsed on Tennyson, right at the line of scrimmage.

The first quarter ended with the Tigers in third-and-10, up 21-0.

Jones faked the handoff, and like the long touchdown run, it worked, all the way to Tatum’s 40 and an 18-yard gain, obviously a first down on the first play of the second quarter.

Jack Husted caught a pass from Jones out in the flat, and officials ruled a Tatum defender hit Husted late – that gave the Tigers a first down at Tatum’s 14.

No gain on the first down play, but a 14-yard touchdown on the next play for Jerrion Hall. Padron missed the extra point, but a flag came down for an offsides penalty on Tatum. The Tigers decided to go for two, but Hall was thrown down at the 2, keeping the score at Malakoff 27, Tatum 0.

Cayden Tatum brought the kick back to his own 41, a 35-yard return.

Luke Sigler ran right by the Malakoff defender on first down and was open, but Bradley’s throw was long, and incomplete.

Tatum’s offensive line – Brody Downs, Xavior Moore, Chris Guijosa, Taylor Rutherford and Harrison Freeman – began to get a good push. The Eagles found themselves in fourth-and-2 at their own 48, and Bradley got behind that line and got enough for the first down, into Malakoff territory.

The second-down play, a pitch-out to Sigler, started off badly – the ball was loose – but Sigler picked it up, and was hit out of bounds, a 15-yard penalty on Malakoff that set Tatum up with a first down at the Tigers’ 31.

Jamarri Gipson found a hole and picked up yards on second down, to Malakoff’s 16 with 6 ½ minutes left in the half. Cayden Tatum got close to the first down, to the 9, giving the Eagles third-and-2 before he went out of bounds.

Gipson got the first down, giving the Eagles first-and-goal at the 5. Incredibly though, Tatum had the ball pop out from his grasp – it appeared his forward progress was stopped at the 1, but there was no whistle – and the ball went into the end zone, recovered for a Malakoff player for a touchback. The 59-yard drive ended with a third turnover.

The Tigers, set up at their own 25 after the touchback, had a run by Tennyson to the 40, and then another pick-up of 15 on a pass to Kayland Davis.

Tennyson picked up 18 on the first-down play, and Jones – on that quarterback keeper again – dodged his way to the 16. He found Tennyson on a pass on the next play for a 16-yard touchdown.

The score moved to 34-0 on Padron’s extra point with 2:22 left in the half.

Malakoff called a time out with 1:28 left, before Tatum’s third-and-long play – a play where the Tigers would sack Bradley, all the way back at his own 18.

Sigler threw the Malakoff returner for a loss on the return.

The Tigers began their final drive of the half with 1:14 left and a time-out, on their own 43. Just when it seemed the Tigers wouldn’t add points – they did, a 57-yard pass to Davis for the touchdown. Padron’s fifth extra point of the night was good, and the Tigers, flexing their muscles, had a 41-0 lead with 1:05 left.

After another great return by Cayden Tatum, Bradley hit Sigler along the Malakoff sideline for a first down, to Malakoff’s 42, with 26 seconds left in the half.

A long pass downfield to Qwardai Peoples didn’t connect; it went out of bounds, and then Braylen McAllister lost yards on a pass on what would be the half’s final play.

Tennyson scored again for Malakoff with 10:24 in the third quarter, a 3-yard run on the second half’s first drive, to put the Tigers up 48-0 after the extra point.

Tatum would finally answer, a 40-yard touchdown pass to Cayden Tatum. The two-point conversion failed, and Tatum had its first points with 8:11 left in the third quarter.

Peoples stopped Tennyson for no gain on Malakoff’s first down play from the Tigers’ own 25, but Tennyson broke free for a 10-yard run on the next play.

The Tigers’ offense mixed it up, driving down to Tatum’s 4-yard-line and running much of the third-quarter clock away before finally scoring, a 1-yard run by – you guessed it – Jason Tennyson, with 2:54 left in the quarter, capping a 75-yard drive on 10 plays.

Padron hit the point after and gave his team a 55-6 lead.

Cayden Tatum reeled off a 15-yard gain to start Tatum’s next drive, all the way to the Eagles’ 40. Aidan Courtney gained 3 yards, and then Tatum got it again, for another first down, to midfield.

The next play would be another score, a 51-yard pass from Bradley to Cayden Tatum with 1:22 left in the third (55-13 Malakoff), which ended with a pass from Jones to James Studley into Tatum territory, at the 34.

Jones called his own number, another quarterback run, on the next play, a run all the way to Tatum’s 15. Five clock-eating plays later, and Hall had his second touchdown of the night, from 3 yards out, 60 yards traveled in eight plays. Padron booted his eighth extra point of the game, and gave the Tigers a 62-13 lead with just less than nine minutes left in the game.

That would be the final score.

Tatum wraps its season up with the loss, and Malakoff advances to face Maypearl, who defeated Pottsboro, 45-37, tonight.