The kickoff by Charlie to start off Game 2 was fielded by the senior wide receiver Karl Branting at the Tiger 3, Karl returned it 18 yards to the Tiger 21 as Kyle Broflovski contributed on the stop.
--SP ball--
On 1st and 10 from the 21, the Tigers lined up in their I-formation. Deangelo was behind center with Evan "T-Claw" Barksdale and Darius Griffin behind him. The Mad Dogs lined up in their usual 4-3 defense formation. With 7 second left on the play clock, Deangelo snapped the ball and handed it off to his five-star senior tailback. Darius found an open hole in the Mad Dog defense, thanks to blocks from Burris Ewell and Francis Hancock. He easily picked up the the first down and a few more yards before being stopped by Eugene and Token Black at the Tiger 36. It was a 15-yard gain and a Tiger first down.
Coach Woods, on the next play, decided to call in Deangelo's most favorite play "16 Right Option" in which Deangelo would take the ball himself and cut to the right upfield. He swaped Karl for the backup tight end, Viktor Krum, for this play. 11:40 showed on the clock. Deangelo snapped the ball and Viktor made a major block on TJ and it allowed Deangelo to cut upfield. He was suddenly free and had real estate in front of him. Ron was the only thing that stood between Deangelo and the end zone at the Mad Dog 46. All right, I gotta make this stop, he thought to himself. He tried to take the all-purpose quarterback down. However, Deangelo stiffed-armed him to the ground. All Ron got was a helmet-full of artifical turf. All the Mad Dog fans watched in horror as the PA exclaimed: "And Deangelo Young is off to the races." Deangelo was all the way down to the 30...20....10....5 TOUCHDOWN, TIGERS. A whole explosion of cheering came from the Tigers side. Only 36 seconds had gone in this game and the Tigers struck first. South Panola's fight song played as the Tiger banner waved across the home track.
Kim, who was witnessing Ron's frustration on the sidelines, couldn't believe this. The Mad Dogs' leaky defense gave up a 64-yard touchdown run to Deangelo Young. Ron could only pound his fists on the turf. Coach Barkin was in a state of disbelief and anger while Coach Woods congradulated his offense on an excellent play.
To make matters even more interesting, Coach Woods put two fingers in the air. The Tigers were going for two very early in the game. Instead of the kicking team with Ted Thompson, Deangelo lined up back under center. He barked the signals and called his own number again. The Tiger offensive line, once again, did its job of protecting Deangelo as he easily went in for two.
The Tigers took an 8-0 lead with 11:24 left in the first quarter.
The Mad Dog fans were stunned, yet they were still confident that with "Unstoppable" on the team, they can get back in the game.
--MID ball--
On the kickoff, Ted drilled the kickoff to the goalline where Ron was waiting. The familiar number 7 swerved through one tackler and got a good return of 33 yards before Blaise Zabini, the backup tailback, and Rakim Austin contributed with the stop.
It was 1st and 10 for the Mad Dogs at their own 33. Stan lined up under center behind Devon with Brian and Ron as the running backs. With 5 on the play clock, Stan barked the signals and handed the ball off to Ron, who went to the right side, where he had been effective in Game 1. However, Evan was there waiting for him as Ron was stopped at the 36 for only a 3-yard gain.
On 2nd and 7, Stan tried a fullback blast with Brian but was instantly stuffed by Damon West and Russell Northrop behind the line of scrimmage to the 34 for a loss of 2 yards.
Coach Barkin called a pass play on 3rd and 9 by taking out Brian and replacing him with Milo Kamalani. The Tigers responded by bringing in the nickel Package. With 10:22 left, Stan dropped back to pass to find his most favorite receiver, Carver but the pass fell short and it was fourth down. The Middleton fans groaned.
Barkin, frustrated that his offense couldn't do anything on its first possession, called in the punting unit with David Childers. David pinned the ball deep into Tiger territory at the 15. Deangelo tried to field it but was instantly cut down at the 13 by Kyle. A 49-yard punt for a 2-yard loss on the return.
--SP ball--
With 10:07 left in the first and enjoying an 8-0 lead, the Tigers started deep in their own territory at their own 13. The Mad Dogs were confident that the mistakes of the first drive wouldn't happen again.
On first and 10, Deangelo tried a fullback handoff to Evan but was stopped at the line of scrimmage by Eugene for no gain.
On second and 10, Coach Woods called in a QB draw. With the help from a block by Walter Cunningham, Deangelo was able to pick up 8 yards to the 21. Lee and TJ contributed with the stop for the Mad Dogs.
On third and 2, Coach Barkin tried to call in a goal-line defense to hold the Tigers. Coach Woods responded by calling in Viktor and his second-string fullback and punter, Ash Ketchum for Evan. With 8:55 left in the quarter and with 6 seconds on the play clock, Deangelo handed the ball off on a fullback blast play by Ash and he was able to cross the first down mark to the Tiger 25 where Greg Goldberg met him. It was a gain of 4, enough for another Tiger first down.
On first and 10, the Tigers were about to run their next play from the 25 when yellow laundry from the refs blew the play dead
FALSE START, ON THE OFFENSE, NUMBER 24 ON THE PLAY, IT IS A 5-YARD PENALTY, STILL FIRST DOWN
Francis moved too early and the ball moved back to the Tiger 20.
On first and 15 after the penalty, Deangelo dropped back to pass for the first time in Game 2. The Mad Dogs were expecting run. Deangelo found Willie Wright, his senior wide reciever, at the 28. Willie caught the ball and moved to the Tiger 34 where Lee met him. It was a 14-yard pass play and close enough for the first.
It was second and 1 with 7:55 left in the quarter when, again, flags were everywhere.
ILLEGAL PROCEDURE ON THE OFFENSE, NUMBER 51 ON THE PLAY, IT IS A 5-YARD PENALTY, AND IT IS STILL SECOND DOWN.
Charles Harris, the sophomore tackle, moved a bit too early and the ball will be moved to the 30. Tiger fans didn't like the call. It was the second penalty on the drive.
On 2nd and 5, Deangelo tried to hand it off to Evan again on the blast play. Evan struggled to get back to the line of scrimmage as Ralph Wiggum made his presence felt for Middleton.
It was now 3rd and 5, and Coach Woods called in "14 Right Option". Darius was going to run the play to the right. As 7:01 remained on the game clock, Deangelo barked in the play and handed it off to Darius again. Francis made a huge block on Greg and, suddenly, Darius was wide open. He picked up the first down and a whole lot more. The Tiger fans jumped up and down. Darius was about to go to the races, if it weren't for the ever-present number 7 to bring him down. Kim cheered lightly for her partner. He was able to bring down Darius but it was now at the Mad Dog 41 yard-line. It was a 29-yard gain and another Tiger first down.
On the next play, Coach Woods called for another quarterback draw. Nine seconds remained on the play clock, and 6:34 remained in the first quarter. Deangelo again got help from his offensive line and picked up another Tiger first down. This time, he picked up 16 yards before Token was able to come up with the stop. The ball was now spotted at the 25.
Damn, we're allowing more rushing yards than usual. Ron thought to himself as the Mad Dogs were now trying to contain the Tigers' now-unstoppable ground attack.
On first and 10 from the 25. Deangelo called another blast play to Evan up the middle and Evan picked up 2 yards before Eugene and Mikey Blumberg came up with the stop for the Mad Dogs.
Six minutes now showed on the game clock. Again, Coach Woods called for "14 Right Option" for Darius to cut to the right. It worked like a charm. Again the offensive line of the Tigers seems to be dominating the Mad Dogs' defensive line. Darius was now in the open. Ron, again, made the touchdown-saving tackle, at the 8 yard-line. There was 5:37 remaining on the clock. To Tiger fans everywhere, South Panola now looked like the Tigers that they used to see before Game 1 occurred, moving the ball at will on the ground.
With 5:20 left in the game, Coach Woods called in another run play for Darius. He took out Willie and replaced him with Viktor. Coach Barkin kept in his tired starters. It was a bad decision. Deangelo handed it off to Darius and went, unopposed, into the end zone. TOUCHDOWN, TIGERS. An 8-yard scoring run by Darius Griffin, the tailback whose speed that the college scouts only dreamed out. Darius did a quick celebration, handed the ball off to the referee, and went to the sidelines. Once again, the crowd roared its approval. The fight song by South Panola played again as Ted added in the PAT with 5:14 left in the quarter. The score was now South Panola 15, Middleton 0. They moved the ball 87 yards in just ten plays as 4:53 was consumed from the clock.
Kim tried her best to pump up the crowd, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Middleton has given up over 150 yards on the ground, and the first quarter isn't even over yet. This was going to be a long night for Mad Dog nation.
-- MID ball --
Ted kicked it off to Ron from the 5; Ron made up his way to the Mad Dog 34 where Blaise and Milhouse Van Houten met him.
Hopefully, we won't go 3 and out like we did last time. Ron prayed to himself to break the big one for a touchdown.
On 1st and 10 from the 34, Coach Barkin called for one of his draw plays to the left for Ron. Damon and Evan spread out their positions so that Number 7 would not be able to use the corners.
Ron got only 2 yards to the left before Jarred Wilkes gave him a Batesville welcome at the 36.
On 2nd and 8 from the 36, Brian was subbed out for the shotgun formation with Ladario Weathers, the other tailback. Ladario joined next to Stan. There was 4:39 left to play in the quarter. Ladario tried a draw play through the middle but was stuffed by Gordon Dill, the huge Tiger defensive tackle, at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
Third and 8 approached the Mad Dogs. Again, Coach Barkin was showing the shotgun formation. Three seconds showed on the play clock. He snapped the ball to Ron but he was hit hard instantly by Melvin. This caused the ball to come loose.
"Ball, ball" Coach Woods cried out. There was a huge dogpile of players, but Stan, with quick thinking, got the ball back at the 34. Again, nothing showed on that drive. The Tigers' defense had held up once again.
Time to go three and out for the Mad Dogs. David punted the ball to the Tiger 25 yard-line, a 41-yard punt, before it was downed by the Mad Dogs.
The Mad Dog fans were growing impatient.
--SP ball--
Three minutes and 22 seconds ticked on the game clock. South Panola had held Middleton without a first down.
On first and 10 from their own 25, Darius tried a run through the middle but was halted by TJ for a loss of 1 yard to the Tiger 24.
On 2nd and 11, Evan tried the same old blast play, and it netted them 4 more yards to the Tiger 28. Jimmie Hopkins and Ralph shared the tackle.
On 3rd and seven, instead of passing. Deangelo tried to keep it for himself. He netted just 5 yards on the play, just 2 yards shy of the first down on the 33. Eugene prevented him from converting.
The Tigers called in their punting unit for the first time tonight. The Middleton crowd found some reason to applaud for their defense. Ron was back to return. The Tiger knew how dangerous Number 7 was on returns in Game 1. Ash punted to the Mad Dog 36. As a heard of blue shirts were coming towards him, Ron signaled for the fair catch at the 36. The Tigers slowed down the charge and didn't hit him.
--MID ball--
Now on their third drive of the game, the Mad Dogs tried to get the offense going, down by 15 and with just 1:33 left in the first.
On first down, Stan called in "20 Middle", a fullback handoff to Brian. Stan barked the plays, and the ball was snapped. He handed it off to Brian. Marvin Young met him along with Jarred. Brian felt something broken in his leg at the Middleton 38. After the play was over, he grimaced in pain.
Ron came up to him, "Brian, what's wrong."
Brian screamed in pain, "It's my leg!! IT'S MY LEG!!!!"
Ron put his hands together "Timeout!! TIMEOUT!!" The clock stopped with 1:19 left in the period.
The Mad Dog medical staff came rushing towards the field as the Mad Dog players started to take a knee for their fallen team-mate. Brian was tended to by the staff. He grimaced in pain as the medical team walked him off the field. He still couldn't feel his leg. Both sides of the stadium gave him a warm round of applause. As the senior fullback was taken to the sidelines, Lance Jackson came in for the Mad Dogs at wide receiver. The game resumed its course.
After Brian's injury, on 2nd and 8, Stan called for a pass play and the Tigers were showing their nickel defense again. Stan dropped back to pass but couldn't find anyone in the open. He did not see Roger Klotz coming towards him from the right. Roger, with his 300-pound frame, took Stan down for an loss of 8 yards, a sack. Mad Dog nation could not believe this. Even a few boos were mixed in. The Tigers' applause quickly drowned out the negative feelings of the Mad Dog side. Thirty seconds now remained in the first quarter.
After Stan threw an incomplete pass to Milo, the Mad Dogs had to punt for the third time. Deangelo was back to return again. David, once again, showed his punting ability by drilling it deep into Tiger territory at the 15. Deangelo returned it to the Tiger 26. Weevil Underwood, the backup tight end, and Tracey Sketchit made the stop for the Mad Dogs. Twelve seconds were left.
--SP ball--
South Panola ended the quarter on a 3-yard run by Darius. TJ made the stop.
As the first quarter buzzer sounded, the score was: South Panola 15, Middleton 0.