Tiger D Stands Tall

The Tiger defense withstood the one man wrecking crew from Jacksonville - Tee Canady - as the Tigers won in the Tomato Bowl 15-9.  For the second year in a row the Tigers went into the Tomato Bowl and came out with a victory but this year it was a tough, nail-biting contest that came down to the final seconds before Coach Henigan's boys sealed the victory.

Early in the game things did not go well for the Tigers.  On the opening series the offense couldn't muster anything and had to punt.  Knowing that Jacksonville blocked a punt for a TD in a opening week win against Sulphur Springs may have been in the back of Eric Gordon's head as his punt made it only back to the line of scrimmage giving the Indians great field position which they took advantage of when Eric Johnson ran in for the opening score.  After the Tigers failed to move the ball again the Indians added a field goal to make the score 9-0 and it looked like Tiger fans might be in for a long night.

In the second quarter though the offense finally came to life as Gordon connected with Jon Bauer for a 40 yard touchdown pass to cut the Indian lead to 9-7.  That was the score heading into halftime.  In the second half the Tigers drove to the Indians 30 yard line where they faced a fourth down and two yards to go.  Coach Henigan not only decided to go for it, he dug deep into his playbook and ran a double reverse that then had Bauer throw to a wide open Rian Stubbs for the touchdown.  With the two point conversion the Tigers led 15-9 which would be the final score of the game. 

The Tigers did get a late scare before getting the victory.  A great punt return gave the Indians the ball inside Tiger territory.  Indians QB Tee Canady moved Jacksonville to the Tiger 30 and a 4th and 2 with 30 seconds left.  The Indians went for the win and great Tiger defense knocked the ball from WR Josh Johnson in the end zone to cement the win for Corsicana.

The Tiger defense was incredible all night long and even more so in the fourth quarter.  They generated several opportunities for the offense and kept Jacksonville from getting any momentum after their early scores.  Tomarrio Cleveland had two interceptions in the game and the secondary as a whole did a tremendous job against a talented wide receiver corps.  The defensive line also had another great game getting consistent pressure on the elusive Canady.