Bittersweet.

For these seniors, it was the only word that fit.

The Tiger faced their last regular season opponent tonight, the Hallsville Bobcats. The Tigers were able to keep their winning streak alive by defeating the Bobcats 21-9. This finished of the Tiger’s season with a perfect district record and the district championship, before playing McKinney North in Longview for the first round of the playoffs.

The first quarter was rather uneventful. There were hardly any first downs or impressive plays. For a while it looked like this game would consist primarily of punts and fighting to get back to the line of scrimmage. However, things got a little heated near the end of the quarter. Many Tiger fans were angered by a call by the referees regarding a fumble that was ruled as down. Fans screamed and cheered on the Tigers to stop Hallsville on fourth down for a turnover, which they did. But the quarter came to an end with the score board untouched.

The slow streak continued into the second quarter, with both teams unable to gain much ground. Hallsville was finally able to complete a pass down the middle to get them in the red zone. Despite their efforts, the Tiger defense held the line allowing only a field goal. Later in the quarter, the Tiger offense tried to find some success of their own. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a break and put up points. In the end of the first half, Hallsville had the upper hand with a score of 3-0

“We were just down by three points in the first half and we knew we could come back and put some points on the board,” senior linebacker Anthony Rhone said. “We had faith in each other and just stuck together as a team.”

When the third quarter rolled around the Tigers started moving the ball. Senior quarterback Cody Hunter completed a deep pass to junior wide receiver Jarion Anderson to place the Tigers on the two yard line. The Tigers were able to push for a touchdown with a quarterback sneak by Hunter. Later on, senior wide receiver Taylor Jackson caught a pass and ran for an 81-yard touchdown. To finish of the quarter, senior defensive back Travonne Monk intercepted a pass in the Tigers’ own end zone.

“At halftime we had a little come to Jesus meeting,” senior defensive lineman Justin Lewis said. “We realized this is it, this is it at Grim, and we need to do it right.”

The Tigers started off the fourth quarter strong, with senior running back Treveon Walker running for a 59-yard touchdown. The Bobcats responded to this by throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass. They failed a two point conversion attempt, leaving the score at 21-9.

“This was a big game, we wanted to work hard and thats what we did,” Monk said. “We came out and shined.”

The Tiger faithful were elated after winning district outright for the first time since 2006. However, the seniors are having to face the fact that playing with their teammates is coming to an end.

“I’ve grown up with these seniors and it’s just a bittersweet moment, “ Rhone said. “I enjoy playing with these guys and I’m definitely going to miss it.”

This isn’t just the last game for the football players, it’s the last game for the band, drill team, cheerleaders and students alike. Hopefully all of these groups can look back on this game, and the year as a whole, fondly.

“It’s really sad because I’m going to miss everybody that I’ve been with for the past four years, but I’m happy that this is our show and It’s been a great year, “ senior drum major Madison Norton said. “I’m really glad I got the chance to direct everybody and be with my friends for the last time.”

The Tigers are already looking to the future with optimism. They are ready to take this run to the state level.

“We’re ready man, we’re just ready man,” Anderson said. “We’re hungry, we want state, that’s all we want.”