THERE’S A LEOPARD IN THE EAGLE’S NEST | Liberty-Eylau spoils Tatum’s return home, leaves with 28-13 win
TATUM – Tatum returned home Friday night to face Liberty-Eylau in a District 8-3A, Division I game, but there was very little “sweet” about it.
Liberty-Eylau, who had been state-ranked for much of the 2024 season, had given its fans little to cheer about this year – until last night, when the Texarkana-area school escaped Eagle Stadium with a 28-13 win.
Tatum (2-4) is now 1-1 in district play, hardly anything to worry about just yet, and the Eagles have an open date next week, Friday, Oct. 10. The next time coach Whitney Keeling’s team hits the field, it’ll be Jack Murphy Stadium in Gladewater on Thursday, Oct. 16.
L-E (2-3; they’ve already had their open date) gets to have the “fun” of facing Gladewater this next week.
Neither the Leopards nor Tatum had much fun on their first two possessions last night. L-E went four-and-out, and Tatum lost the ball back to L-E at the Leopards’ 30-yard-line, then rinse and repeat.
But on the Eagles’ second drive, they gave it back to L-E on its own 27. Arian Taylor would cap the 73-yard drive with a 5-yard score and, combined with Michael Polk’s extra point, the Leopards claimed a 7-0 lead, with 3:48 still left in the first quarter.
Tatum kept its offense largely ground-based, with Dameon Pippens, quarterback Grant Adcock, Ty Moore and Grayson Bartley. The drive stalled out, and again L-E took over after another turnover on downs, this time at the Leopards’ own 24.
This continued until an L-E possession that ended with three consecutive incomplete passes by L-E quarterback Huntley Fisher.
Following a punt, the Eagles took over at their own 24, and back-to-back runs by Moore and Pippens had Tatum at midfield, at L-E’s 48.
The biggest play of the first half for Tatum: a 31-yard pass from Adcock to Carlos Hernandez, all the way to L-E’s 13-yard-line. Alijah Williams reeled off a run to put Tatum right at the goal line, and then Adcock did so, scoring on a 1-yard run. Kody Hines hit the point after and Tatum had tied it at 7-all with 1:07 left in the half, the eventual halftime score.
Both teams’ first possessions of the second half went three-and-out, much like the first half. A fumble by Tatum was the break the Leopards needed, collecting the ball at Tatum’s 37.
L-E went to a heavy dose of Arian Taylor on the drive, a run to Tatum’s 19, then eventually a first-and-goal situation at the Tatum 10.
Three plays later, a 2-yard touchdown by Tatum and an extra point kick by Polk and the Leopards were back in front, 14-7, with 3:56 left in the third.
Tatum went to work and again, kept the offense on the ground, eventually winding up at midfield, but a turnover on downs left Liberty-Eylau, not Tatum, in business.
After a short gain by Taylor on a run, Fisher found Tray Bragg for a 30-yard gain, all the way down to Tatum’s 11. A 3-yard pass from Fisher to Ty Hawkins was the final play of the third quarter, and then Taylor scored to open the fourth, an 8-yard touchdown. Polk again hit the point after, and the Leopards had upped their lead to 21-7.
The turnover-on-downs situation plagued the Eagles all night, and did so again on their next possession.
L-E took over at midfield once again, and Fisher completed a nice pass to the Tatum 26 for a new set of downs. The Leopards had their share of turnover on downs, as well, and did so on that drive, stalling out at the 17 with 7 ½ minutes left, up 21-7.
Tatum’s next drive ended with an interception by L-E’s ZA Welch, and then Tatum took the ball away, forcing a punt. This see-sawed, with the Leopards adding a touchdown with 2:46 left (a 24-yard run by Taylor) and Tatum would get in late, with 1:59 left, on a 27-yard scoring pass from Adcock to Quincy Davis for what would be the game’s final score (28-13).
