Daleville beats Straughn at home

The Daleville football team earned a 48-37 win in a Class 3A, Region 2 game Friday, Oct. 14, against the Straughn Tigers.

Daleville football coach Josh Parrish said the Tigers’ offense was what surprised the team the most.

“They lined up with a bunch of different stuff,” he said. “They threw a lot more than we thought they were going to throw. They hadn’t thrown that much all year. I don’t know if they ran it much at all. They threw it pretty much every down, so that was something we weren’t prepared for that we (have) to get better at, obviously. We’ll get back to work.”

A Tiger kickoff to Daleville started the game, and the Warhawks rushed down the field.

Kainan Pouncy ran the final 5 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

The extra point was no good, and the score was 6-0 at the 8:36 mark in the first quarter.

Straughn recovered a Daleville fumble and ran 28 yards for a touchdown with 4:34 left in the first quarter.

The extra point was good, and the Tigers jumped into the lead at 7-6.

At the 11:32 mark in the second quarter, Straughn scored again by rushing a yard into the end zone.

The extra point was no good, and the score bumped up to 13-6.

On the kick return, Tyler Presley ran 80 yards for a Warhawk touchdown.

The extra point by Christopher Perkins was good, and the score was tied at 13-13 at the 11:16 mark in the second quarter.

The Warhawks were next to score when Chance Head rushed 18 yards for a touchdown.

The extra point by Perkins was good, and Daleville jumped back into the lead at 20-13 with 6:54 left in the first half.

A 29-yard touchdown pass gave the Tigers the next score of the game.

With 2:53 left in the second quarter, Straughn went for a two-point conversion, and it was successful.

The score then moved to a 21-20 Tigers’ lead.

Just before the end of the first half, Straughn recovered another Daleville fumble at the Tigers’ 40-yard line and ran 60 yards for a touchdown.

Another successful two-point conversion bumped Straughn’s lead up to 29-20, where it stayed to the end of the first half.

Straughn was the first the score in the second half with a 5-yard touchdown pass.

With 34 seconds left in the third quarter, another successful two-point conversion gave the Tigers a 37-20 lead.

Parrish said the Warhawks came out a little slow at the beginning of the game, but they continued to fight to the end.

“(We) started off slow,” he said. “We didn’t quit. The thing I’m most proud of is they didn’t quit. We (were) down 17 points in basically the fourth quarter and didn’t quit, but came back and found a way to win.”

At the 11:24 mark in the fourth quarter, Pouncy rushed 23 yards into the end zone.

A good extra point bumped the score up to 37-27.

The Warhawks scored again when Ryan Warren ran 65 yards for a touchdown.

At the 9:31 mark in the fourth quarter, the good extra point raised the score to a close, 37-34 margin.

On Daleville’s next possession, Head threw a 66-yard pass to Warren for a touchdown.

Perkins’ extra point was good, and with 5:41 left in the game Daleville jumped back in the lead at 41-37.

The Warhaws were the last to score when Pouncy rushed 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter.

Another good extra point by Perkins brought the score up to 37-48, where it stayed to the final buzzer.

Warren led Daleville’s offense with 10 carries for 115 yards.

Another Warhawk highlight was an interception by Dorion Jones.

Daleville will host the Opp Bobcats Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

Though Straughn brought a tough challenge to Warhawk Stadium, Parrish said the players never faltered in their belief they could win.

“I don’t think they ever think that we can’t win, and so even when we get down they believe we will win,” he said. “Some good things happened. We got a few lucky plays, and (that’s) just the way it is. It could have very easily gone the other way so we’re fortunate enough to come away with a win.”