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By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

WEST BLOCTON—The Shelby County Wildcats were confident they could repeat last year’s success in their season opener Friday night, but the West Blocton Tigers’ defense had different plans, as they held Shelby County to a 25-13 loss.

“Our kids played hard; they really did. I’m proud of the way they fought and got after it,” said Shelby County coach Zeb Ellison. “We made a lot of mistakes. We had four turnovers on the night, they had a kickoff returned for a touchdown.”

Ellison said the Wildcats were able to move the ball consistently throughout the night, and he expressed confidence the team can bounce back for next week.

“It’s all things that we can correct and fix, and we will fix them and move forward,” he said.

Dominic Woods caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Sipes to put the Wildcats on the board for the first touchdown of the season.

In the second quarter, Devan Alexander scored from the 1-yard line to put the Wildcats up another six points.

Meanwhile, the Tigers also were busy stacking up points. The game was tied 13-13 at halftime, but unfortunately for the Wildcats, the end zone could not be found in the second half.

In all, Shelby County garnered a total 381 offensive yards on the night, with 337 yards passing and 44 yards rushing.