The Straughn Tigers claimed the 3A Region 2 title with a dominating win over Opp, a county opponent Opp 47-0.
The victory means that Straughn remains unbeaten in region play, with 7-0 and stands with an overall record of 8-1. The win earned to the Tigers their first regional championship since 2009.
“Our players and coaches have all put in a lot of effort to bring us to this point. We have a fantastic staff who are hard at work. Our players are just like us. When everyone is pulling towards the same goal,, amazing events can occur,” said Straughn Head Coach Ashley Kilcrease.
Straughn’s offense is kicking thanks to a field goal of 38 yards made by junior Brenden Bartholomew. This is a game Kilcrease claimed the team got a jump to a jump.
“We knew they were great in the front line on defense. Our players remained with the strategy. Bartholomew kicks the field goal first was a major impact for us. It was a big kick, and we were able to get moving. For the defense of our team, they performed superb all night,” he said.
After being up 3-0 in the third quarter, the Tigers had to force Opp to throw. The return of Saxby Radford made on the Tigers at the Bobcat 46. It took just one play to get Grant Barnes to go around the left-hand side and along the sideline until an end zone. Bartholomew’s point after made it 10-0 with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.
The Straughn defense came up with a new strategy to Opp on a fourth-and-2 on their 34 yard line. Going for the ball Straughn’s Eli Guilford cut through the line and sacked on the Bobcat ball carrier, resulting in an injury in the game.
Assuming the ball in a great field position and field position, QB Layne Grantham connected with Parker Black to gain 29 yards. After a fumble, Grant Barnes took it into the end zone from 10 yards. Bartholomew’s shot following lifted his Tigers to a 17-0 advantage at 11:47 of the first quarter.
Following the Tiger defense stopped Opp in a fourth-down conversion attempt after which the Tigers gained possession of its own 41. After a five-yard gain from Grantham, Cameron Adams picked up the first play by running 8 yards. After a few plays, Grantham was able to find Black to score a 35-yard retort towards at the Opp the 16 yard line. Grantham completed the drive just a few minutes later with a 1-yard run, bringing the Tigers to the lead at 24-0 at halftime.
Both offenses exchanged kicks to start the second half. However, during the initial play of Opp’s next possession the ball was lost and was recovered from Straughn’s Saxby Radford on the Bobcat 19-yard line.
The Tigers were penalized with back-to-back holding penalties which brought up to the 36. Grantham discovered Clark Jordan for a 9-yard gain before he went over to him on the final play to score the score, but again, the Tigers were penalized for an infraction of hold. After a third down, Straughn handed the ball to Black who ran over the left side before heading to the goal line. Bartholomew’s point-after provided the Tigers an advantage of 31-0 with just 3:49 left at the end of third quarter.
Straughn’s defense remained well and forced Opp into a punting scenario. The snap this time was high and sailed into the end zone to secure an extra safety.
Following an uncontested kickoff, Straughn quickly capitalized. The first time he played, Grantham took the ball straight through the Opp defense 44 yards to score the touchdown, and a 40-0 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Straughn scored a third goal in the fourth quarter on the 32-yard run of Cameron Adams, setting up the final score of 47-0.
The shutout was the first for Straughn since the season of 2020 and they’ll be looking to stay unbeaten in regional play when they take on Providence Christian (5-4, 5-2) next week, before preparing to host the opening Round of the playoffs.
The Bobcats they drop to 3-4-5 in the area. They are the overall record is 3-6.
“Straughn has a fantastic team, and they’re champions of the region. We’ll return to work on Monday, and will be home for the this week.” added Opp Director of Coaching Matt Brunson.
They will face region foe Ashford this week. The Bobcats are in the position to make the playoffs if they win or a loss against Pike County.
The article Straughn wins over Bobcats and wins his first regional title since the 2009 season was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
