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Tigers lose third straight

By Gary Buchanan

Tallassee lost to Dadeville 44-27 Friday night.  The loss was the third straight defeat for Tallassee and hampers the Tigers playoff hopes. 

The game started with what seemed to be an immediate break for Tallassee.  An onside kick was muffed by Dadeville and recovered by Tallassee.  The excitement was short lived as the referees determined that a whistle had been blown inadvertently.  Their decision forced Tallassee to kick off again.  This time Dadeville handled the return.  After an exchange of punts, Margarius Buchanan exploded for a 52 yard touchdown.

Tallassee’s next drive stalled in Dadeville territory.  A fourth down sack gave Dadeville the ball on its own 44 yard line.  On the next play from scrimmage, Donquavious Tucker scored on a 56 yard run.  A 2 point conversion put the home Tigers up 14-0. 

The ensuing possession by Tallassee featured another big running play by Markevious Matthews.  Last week’s player of the game had two carries for 46 yards in the drive.  The visiting Tigers were unable to cross the goal line and settles for a 27 yard field goal by Patrick Joekel. 

Buchanan added another touchdown run of 25 yards to put Dadeville up 20-3.  Tallassee answered before halftime with an 18 yard touchdown pass from Casey Baynes to Jamarcus Russell.  A missed extra point gave Dadeville a 20-9 lead going into halftime.

The first possession of the second half saw Baynes hit Matthews with a 35 yard touchdown strike.  A failed two point conversion left Dadeville in the lead, 20-15.  Buchanan answered quickly with an 81 yard touchdown jaunt to extend the lead to 26-15. 

Again, Tallassee battled back.  Baynes led the Tigers down the field before calling his own number for a 4 yard scoring run.  Another failed two point conversion left Tallassee trailing 26-21.

Dadeville scored three touchdowns to break the game open in the fourth quarter.  Baynes connected with Logan Goodman on a 25 yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring at 44-27.

“This is a tough one to stomach,” said Tallassee Coach Mike Battles.  “We did some things that hurt us but our kids played hard.  Some things out of our control kept putting us in a hole.”

Brady Hancock helped shore up an injury-depleted backfield.  He ran the ball eight times for 38 yards and added another 50 yards in kickoff returns.  That, and his efforts on defense, earned him the Bright House Networks Player of the Game honors.

Tallassee returns home to J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium Friday night against Holtville.  This region matchup is the final home game for Tallassee and will be Senior Night.  Kickoff is at 7:00. 1300 WTLS/106.5 FM will broadcast live beginning at 6:00. Audio will be simulcast on Bright House Networks cable television channel 97 and the Tune-In App, followed by the "Scoreboard Show" until 11:00 p.m. A video webcast will be available on Tallassee Times TV: www.tallasseetv.com.     

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