Last Friday's face-off between the Mendenhall Tigers and the Louisville Wildcats was the first time the teams have faced each other since last year’s championship match won by Louisville.
Friday’s game ended with the same result as the Tigers lost to the Wildcats 41-16.
The mindset of the Tigers was unclear headed into this match against Louisville, but it can be inferred that they were aware that it would not be an easy matchup for them.
The Tigers’ overall play style looked good offensively. Unfortunately Louisville’s defense easily overcame them. And Mendenhall’s defensive line was unable to keep up, allowing multiple Wildcat touchdowns and sloppy Tiger plays being made.
The first quarter began with the Tigers kicking off to the Wildcats, who immediately took the ball in for a touchdown. The Tigers tried to recover by scoring their own touchdown and later a field goal. The first quarter concluded promisingly with the Tigers leading by 3.
That promise evaporated when the Tigers opened the second quarter by turning the ball over to the Wildcats, who scored a touchdown. The Tigers got the ball again but were unable to get any progression towards a touchdown. After running out of downs they were forced to punt to the Wildcats, who took the ball and got three points ending the second quarter with 17-10.
The halftime show was kicked off with The Mendenhall Tiger Pride Marching Band performing parts 1,2, and 3 of their show “Journey Of Man.”
The third quarter was an immersive display in which the Wildcats simply outclassed the Tigers. After receiving the ball they scored a touchdown securing their lead even more with a score of 24-7. They then went on to score another touchdown and point after moving the score to 31-7.What once looked promising for the Tigers was taking a devastating turn for the worst.
The fourth quarter was simply the final nail in the coffin. After hitting a field goal, then a passing touchdown, and finally securing the point after, the Tigers made a rushing touchdown with six minutes left in the game that concluded with a final score of 41-16.
This loss put the Tigers on a two game losing streak. In the district they are 2-1 only having lost one game in district play to Quitman.
This week the Tigers face Northeast Jones for the last district game of the season. Currently Northeast Jones is 3-5 on their season and are 1-2 in their district season.
Neither of the Mendenhall coaches was available for a comment. Tiger kicker Daniel Smith, however, said, “The main factor that kind of messed us up was the lack of communication.”
Hopefully the Tigers will not allow the past two games to affect the rest of their season, as they prepare for the playoffs.
