District rivalry win

Tigers take 4-0 district record

Story by Kailyn Williams, Sports Editor

October 15, 2023

Junior defensive back, Alex Jones dives for the tackle on the Marshall Mavericks. The Tigers played the Mavericks away on Oct. 13, 2023.

The Mavericks started off strong early, forcing and recovering a fumble by the Tigers with 9:36 left in the first quarter.

After the Texas defense came up with a stop, the Mavericks attempted a field goal. Senior cornerback Timothy Austin managed to block and recover the attempt, running it back for a Tiger touchdown. With 8:57 remaining in the quarter, Texas led 7-0.

“I really just tried my hardest to get to the ball as soon as I could,” Austin said. “I knew that, once I got loose, I was going to have that touchdown.”

Player of the game, senior Tim Austin.
“Tim had a great defensive showing tonight,” Head Coach Gerry Stanford said. “He worked hard, he just played well.”

The Mavericks answered with a touchdown of their own one minute later, after senior Diego Smith scratched off a 65-yard rushing touchdown, evening the score at 7-7.

The remaining time of the first proved quiet for both sides, making the score 7-7 going into the second quarter.

The Tigers struck early in the second quarter with a double-pass play. Sophomore running back completed a pass to sophomore receiver Kam Wrightner for a touchdown, putting Texas up 14-7 with 11:42 remaining in the half.

The half stilled, with neither team being able to gain any momentum. Both defenses proved strong, consistently forcing punts. Going into the third quarter, Texas remained in the lead 14-7.

The Tigers went up 16-7 midway through the third quarter after a safety, followed by a touchdown from senior receiver TJ Gray. Gray broke a tackle to get into the endzone, putting the score at 23-7 with 4:15 remaining in the third.

Both teams continued to struggle to string together productive drives, and the game remained heavy on the defensive side of things for both the Tigers and the Mavericks. Going into the fourth quarter, Texas led 23-7.

The game turned physical in the fourth quarter, with multiple personal fouls from both teams. After scratching off a final touchdown from Ball with 8:50 remaining, the Tigers secured the 30-7 district victory over the Marshall Mavericks in their rivalry game.

“I thought, defensively, we played one of our best games we’ve played all year long. We kept battling offensively and we came alive a bit more in the second half,” Head Coach Gerry Stanford said. “We got a couple guys back, our kids played hard and just did a great job.”

About the Contributors

Kailyn Williams, Sports Editor

Kailyn Williams is a third-year senior member of the newspaper staff and Sports Editor. She is an overachieving perfectionist, who doesn’t like failing. She is a member of the varsity volleyball and softball team and likes to maintain straight A’s.

Lyric Curtis, Visual Journalist/Staff Writer

Senior Lyric Curtis is a first year staff writer in THS Publications. She is also a first year photographer for the publications team. Curtis is a member of the varsity softball team at THS and has actively participated in Leader In Me for 4 years. She enjoys taking photos, hanging out with friends, laughing at any and everything and listening to her all-time favorite artist, Frank Ocean. Curtis hopes to pursue a career in dental hygiene and attend college at Texas A&M University at College Station. She wants everyone to feel heard and accepted because life is tough!

Kristina Colburn, Assignments Editor

Kristina Colburn is currently the Photo Assignments Editor for THS Publications. She is also a member of National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, AP Ambassadors, HOSA, Model UN and the Multicultural Club. In her spare time, Kristina likes to relax and listen to music, shop online, thrift and occasionally pick up a book. In addition, she likes to travel. She has been to France and Spain, and is hoping she can travel more in the upcoming years. In the future, Kristina aims to major in Criminal Justice at the University of North Texas or Anthropology at Baylor University.

Anna Haley, assignments editor

Anna Haley is a third-year staff photographer, serving as Tiger Times Assignments Editor. Anna enjoys fishing and hunting, but if she isn't doing that, she’s reading at her desk, getting some piercing or playing Guns N’ Roses through the speakers in Room 50A. Anna is involved in National Honor Society & Mu Alpha Theta and is a 2-year member of the Texas Imagemaker Team (Top 10 Photographers in the state of Texas), as well as an ILPC All-State Journalist & hopes to be a recurring member of both. Anna is a die-hard Aggie fan, but she will miss her beloved sidekick, EIC, Oviya Justin, when she ventures to the dreaded University of Texas. She is excited for her last year in publications!