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Eufaula stuffed by UMS-Wright in second round

Patrick Johnston / Eufaula Tribune
Published: November 16, 2007
Updated: November 17, 2007

MOBILE — Eufaula’s march to a second consecutive state title game appearance ended in disappointment Friday as the Tigers fell at UMS-Wright 3-0 in the second round of the Class 5A Playoffs.

It was the second consecutive season Eufaula’s season ended with a three-point loss. Last year the Tigers fell to Athens 10-7 in the state finals.

Neither team drove into the red zone the entire evening, but the Bulldogs managed to win the game on special teams. Senior Tyler Baxter blocked a punt by Eufaula’s Clayton Slade on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving the Bulldogs first down from the Eufaula 14.

The Eufaula defense stiffened, but UMS-Wright’s Austin Hilyer sneaked a 25-yard field goal inside the left upright to give his team a 3-0 lead with 9:03 remaining in the game.

The Tigers would have one good chance to extend or even win the game. They started their final drive at their own 18 with 2:21 remaining, but quickly moved to midfield after quarterback
Zac Brown completed a pair of first down passes to Kendrick Dennis.

Eufaula’s good fortune continued after UMS-Wright was called for a defensive hold on second and 10, putting the Tigers at the Bulldogs’ 40. Brown would complete one more first down pass to Dennis, but the Tigers stalled after that.

Four consecutive passes from the UMS-Wright 30 fell incomplete. The final pass was a deep throw to receiver Desmond Thomas that was broken up at the last second.

The Bulldogs regained possession with 33.2 seconds remaining and quarterback William Harvey ended the game two plays later by taking a knee.

“We never could get anything going,” EHS coach Dan Klages said. “(At times) we played real well tonight, but we didn’t play well for four quarters.”

Neither team committed a turnover, but UMS slowly gained momentum throughout the game — particularly in the second half — by winning the battle of field position. The Tigers’ second half drives started at their 23, 20, 25 and 18 yard lines. Besides the short field resulting from the blocked punt, the Bulldogs’ other drives started at their 21, 45, 26 and 30 yard lines.

The Tigers’ greatest offensive struggles came in the second and third quarters where they gained only 38 yards of offense. Only one yard came in the third quarter. Their best scoring opportunity came on the game’s first possession when they marched to the UMS-Wright 23.

Slade was wide left on a field goal attempt, though. Hilyer also missed a 46-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter.

“We played well enough on defense to win the game, just like we did last year in the finals,” Klages said.

It was the first time the Tigers had been blanked in a game since the first round of the 2004 playoffs when they lost to McAdory 30-0.

Eufaula ends the season with a 9-3 overall record. UMS-Wright improves to 6-6 overall, with their two playoff wins coming by a field goal each.

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Eufaula stuffed by UMS-Wright in second round

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