Shelby County unable to keep up with Demopolis in battle for first

Published 4:10 am Saturday, October 5, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

COLUMBIANA – In a battle of the top teams in Class 5A, Region 3, the Shelby County Wildcats found themselves unable to answer the Demopolis Tigers on either side of the field.

Demopolis powered its way to a 35-8 win over Shelby County on Oct. 4 at Papa McCombs Stadium and took first place in the region as a result.

The Tigers used a potent ground game and a stifling defense that limited the Wildcats both in the air and on the ground to hand Shelby County its second-straight loss.

Demopolis kicked off the scoring with a 6-yard rushing touchdown midway through the first quarter, establishing a 7-0 lead that the visitors would not relinquish.

The Tigers run game continued to hurt the Wildcats in the second quarter. A 39-yard touchdown run doubled Demopolis’ lead to 14-0 with 9:10 left in the half. Two minutes later, the Tigers housed a carry from 74 yards out, which left the halftime score at 21-0.

However, Shelby County responded in the second half by getting on the scoreboard for the first time all night, threatening to flip the momentum on its head.

While the Wildcats typically do their damage on the ground, this time, they hit the end zone off the long ball.

Junior quarterback Ryan Sipes hit Eli Holliman for a 40-yard touchdown pass for Shelby County’s first points of the night. The Wildcats quickly added two more off a 2-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 21-8.

Shelby County got off the field on defense without allowing another score, but Demopolis quickly struck back. The Tigers picked off the Wildcats and ran it all the way back for a touchdown, restoring the 21-point lead with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Demopolis then finished the job with its final rushing touchdown of the night, this time from five yards out to make the final score 35-8.

The Tigers largely stifled the Shelby County run game, with Tyson Duncan leading the team in rushing with 42 yards off 10 carries. As a team, the Wildcats ran the ball 38 times for just 97 yards, and Anthony Palmieri was limited to negative rushing yards.

The passing game matched the rushing output of 97 yards. Sipes made up 75 of those yards, going 7-for-13 with a touchdown in the process, and Presley Duke was perfect on both of his throws for 22 yards.

Holliman was Shelby County’s top receiver, catching a pair of passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. Palmieri was the only other player with multiple catches and totaled 31 yards in the process. Nico Palmieri’s lone reception was a 30-yard completion.

Despite the defeat, the Wildcats still sit in the No. 2 seed in Class 5A, Region 3 with just two region games left in the season.

The Wildcats dropped to 5-2 with the loss, and they will aim to snap their two-game losing streak against their county rivals, the Montevallo Bulldogs, on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Papa McCombs Stadium.

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