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By NIC YOUNG | Special to the Reporter

DEMOPOLIS – The offensive attack of the Demopolis Tigers proved to be too much for the Montevallo Bulldogs as they fell 40-7 on Sept. 13 at Demopolis High School.

The Bulldogs found themselves behind the sticks throughout this game due to penalties and fundamental miscues before the snap. Montevallo head coach Garrett Langer said that limiting these mistakes will be a key factor in how their season shapes up.

“We got to clean up some things, pre-snap stuff where we are getting penalties and go back to our basic fundamentals,” Langer said.”

The Tigers got on the board early, returning a punt for a score to make the game’s score 7-0.

The following Montevallo possession did not yield much production, resulting in a three-and-out for the Bulldogs.

Beginning at midfield, Demopolis relied on their rushing attack to move them down the field. The rushing efforts of running back Keishawn Rowser and quarterback D’quaris Banks were the focal point of this possession. The drive concluded with an 11-yard touchdown run by Banks. A botched field goal attempt made the game’s score 13-0 midway through the first quarter.

Montevallo began their next drive at their 40-yard line, but offensive miscues put the Bulldogs behind the sticks and forced them to punt on consecutive possessions.

Following the punt, Demopolis found themselves at the Montevallo 37-yard line. The Tigers took quick advantage of this short field scoring in one play with Rowser taking it the distance and running for a 37-yard touchdown to extend the Tiger lead 20-0 with around 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

On the following drive, the Bulldogs began to piece together a lengthy offensive drive early into the second quarter.

Starting at their 43-yard line, quarterback Jordan Ward willed the offense into Tiger territory thanks to his passing and rushing efforts. The Bulldogs made it to the Montevallo 40-yard line before facing a fourth-and-long situation.

An incomplete pass made it seem as though the promising drive was rounding to a close. However, a pass interference call gave the Bulldogs another chance on a fourth and short situation.

Montevallo used this change in momentum to their advantage, luring Demopolis to jump offside to give them a fresh set of downs.

The Bulldogs used this second chance to march down to the Demopolis 19-yard line. Unfortunately, this would be as far as they would make it as offensive miscues put the Bulldogs behind the sticks and into a fourth-and-long situation, where they turned the ball over on downs.

With possession back, Demopolis relied once again on their rushing attack moving the ball from their 33-yard line to the Montevallo 6-yard line. It appeared that the Bulldogs had put together a defense stop forcing Demopolis into a fourth-down situation.

The Tigers lined up for a field goal, but an offside penalty on Montevallo put Demopolis three yards out from the end zone. The offense opted to go for the touchdown, an effort that was successful to make the score 26-0.

Offensive miscues plagued the Bulldogs on their next possession with an errant snap putting them in a second-and-long situation. Montevallo never recovered from this and punted a few plays later.

Beginning at midfield and operating with just over a minute in the half, The Tigers quickly marched down the field in a drive that belonged almost exclusively to running back Carlow James.

The drive was capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run from Kaleb Branch to give the Tigers a substantial 33-0 lead heading into halftime.

The Tigers carried this momentum into the third quarter scoring on the half’s first offensive play to give them a commanding 40-0 lead.

Following two empty possessions by both squads, the Bulldogs began to show signs of life.

Beginning at their 43-yard line, the rushing efforts of Keiston Ross and Caleb Meriweather propelled the offense down the field. Meriweather punched in the score from 11 yards out to put Montevallo on the board 40-7 near the end of the third quarter.

This momentum carried over to the defensive side of the ball with the Bulldogs forcing Demopolis to concede a punt midway through the fourth quarter.

With time ticking away in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs managed to put together another lengthy drive but could not reach the end zone before time expired.

Ward finished the day 3-for-7 on passes with 11 yards. Meriweather tallied 45 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Dee Cutts led the team in receiving with 11 yards.

Ahead of their next matchup, Langer has one particular aspect in mind for his team: self-improvement.

“If we don’t fix some of the things we are messing up on it will be a long rest of the season,” Langer said. “We’ve got to work on ourselves.”

Montevallo falls to 1-3 on the season and will have a bye next week before taking on John Carroll Catholic on Sept. 27.