ARLEY, Ala. – In a huge region matchup, (5-1) Addison rolled into Arley to take on (5-0) Meek to decide who would take a commanding lead in the region. It didn’t take long for the Meek Tigers to show that they were not going to be denied on this evening as they demolished the Bulldogs 44-24 in front of a standing room only crowd.
Addison won the toss and that was the last thing Addison won all night. Addison deferred to the second half, wanting their defense on the field first. Boy, what a mistake that was. Meek took the ball at their own 39-yard line and their game plan was painfully simple. Run the ball until Addison stops them. Well, a little foreshadowing here, Meek didn’t throw a pass the entire game except for a two-point conversion but we will talk about that later. Meek ran Cam Deavers, Blake Miller, who is built like a fireplug, and Ory Firth all night long. Meek went 61 yards on only eight plays for the touchdown. It was Miller who ran it in from 10 yards out to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 8:41 to go in the first quarter. Miller also ran in the two-point conversion and Meek led 8-0.
Addison was forced to punt, and Meek took over at their own 39-yard line again. This time it only took 7 plays for the Tigers to go 61-yards for the touchdown with Deavers taking it in from 1-yard out at the 11:56 mark of the second quarter. During the drive, Deavers had a 29-yard run and Firth had a 17-yard run. The two-point conversion was no good and in the second quarter, Meek led 14-0.
It didn’t take the Dawgs to answer as quarterback Briley Hayes hit Jed Wilkins for a pretty 72-yard touchdown pass. The two-point attempt was no good and with 10-:56 to go in the second quarter, Addison had cut the lead to 14-6.
The Addison score didn’t bother the Tigers one bit as they did what they do and that is run the ball down your throats. The Tigers dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Meek went 91-yards on seventeen plays capping it off with a Miller 2-yard touchdown run. Again, the two-point attempt was no good and Meek stretched the lead to 20-6.
Addison refused to quit and pulled out some trickeration. Hayes hit Braden Luker for 31-yards on a nice swing pass. Addison had a first and ten play at the Tiger 33-yard line when Hayes handed off to Malaki Blakely for what looked like a sweep. Blakely then pitched it to Wilkins who was going in the opposite direction and then Wilkins fired a beautiful pass to quarterback Hayes who was wide open for the 33-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good and with only 38 seconds left in the first half the Dawgs had cut the Tiger lead to 20-12. That is how the half ended and it seemed that the Dawgs had the momentum.
With the Dawgs getting the second half kickoff it looked like they were poised to take the lead in the ballgame. No one told the Tigers. Addison ran three plays for -9 yards, including a Tristan Shanklin sack of Hayes. Meek took over at the Bulldog 49-yard line. Five plays later, Deavers ran it in from 24-yards out to give Meek the commanding 28-12 lead. Deavers also ran in the two-point conversion.
Addison responded right back. Addison took over at their own 36-yard line and eight plays later, Briley Holt took it in from 1 yard out to cut the Tiger lead to 28-18. The big play of the drive was a Brian Berry 31-yard run. The two-point attempt was no good once again.
Addison needed their defense to step up and instead they didn’t show up all night. Meek went 11 plays for 78 yards, again all on the ground and scored another touchdown. Deavers took it in from 1-yard out. Deavers ran in the two-point conversion and Meek again extended the lead to 36-18.
Addison’s offense showed that they had something left as Hayes hit Wilkins again for 55 yards and another touchdown. The two-point was no good and Addison again had cut the Tiger lead to 36-24.
Meek was not to be denied on this evening as they converted on another time-consuming clock killing drive. This time going nine plays for 87 yards. Firth had a 41-yard gallop during the drive. You guessed it, Deavers scored from 1-yard out and at the 4:29 mark in the fourth quarter, Meek had a 42-24 lead. This is when Meek decided to throw a pass as they connected on the two-point pass play to bring the final score to 44-24.
As the clock struck zero, the entire home side of the stadium erupted as the hometown Tigers had accomplished something that very rarely occurs on the gridiron. The Meek Tigers had defeated the Addison Bulldogs decisively. Meek hadn’t beaten the Bulldogs since 2001. This is only the 11th victory in 69 tries for the Tigers in the series history. There was no doubt tonight who the better team was, and Meek has all but secured the region title. Addison and Meek are both playoff bound and a meeting down the road in the playoffs is probable. But for tonight, Congratulations to the Meek Tigers and the Town of Arley who hosted the game with class. Good luck for the rest of the season and maybe the Dawgs and Tigers will see each other again in the playoffs.
Unofficial stats:
Addison had 22 rushes for 88 total yards. Addison had 20 pass plays for 235 total yards. Addison ran 42 total plays for 323 total yards. Meek ran 61 rushing plays for 425 total yards. Meek had no pass plays for zero yards. Meek ran 61 total plays for 425 total yards.
Addison had Berry lead them in rushing with six carries for 58 yards. Luker had four carries for 13 yards. Holt had four carries for 8 yards and a touchdown. Meek had Deavers who had 34 carries for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Firth had 15 carries for 173 yards. Miller had 10 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Addison’s Hayes went 8 completions in 19 attempts for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Wilkins was 1-1 for 33 yards and a touchdown.
Wilkins led the Dawgs with four catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Luker had one catch for 31 yards. Hayes had one catch for 33 yards and a touchdown. Berry had one grab for 12 yards. Holt had one catch for 12 yards.
The Dawg defense was led by Holt with eight tackles. Wilkins had seven. Berry and Jordan Hubbert had six apiece. Hayden Holland had five.
The Tigers Tristan Shanklin had two sacks. Addison falls to 5-2 (4-1 region) and will be off next week.
Meek goes to 6-0 (4-0 region) and will host Shoals Christian next Friday.
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