The Tigers took on the Whitehouse Wildcats at a rainy Tiger Stadium at Grim Park in a penalty filled game Friday, Oct. 28, 2022 to compete for the district championship. 

The Tiger’s won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Texas defense came out strong, forcing Whitehouse into a punt right out of the gates. 

Shifting into their offense, the Tiger’s struggled to convert first downs and, when they did, they failed to take advantage of their opportunities to move down field. Multiple dropped passes forced the Tigers off the field in their first few possessions. 

Whitehouse struck first with a long touchdown pass caught in the front corner of the Tiger endzone, but a missed field goal only gave the Wildcats a 6-0 lead with 5:27 left in the first quarter. 

Junior Brandon Hall returned the kick off to the 49 yard line. The Texas offense broke down a little, a few offside calls and a sack moved the Tigers into first and twenty-three. Whitehouse penalties helped move Texas down field. 

Sophomore quarterback David Potter completed a pass to Hall, the Tigers ended up at first and goal. 

Potter faked a handoff to Hall, completing a handoff to sophomore Javari Johnson, who ran the ball in for a touchdown with 57.1 left in the first quarter, giving the Tigers the lead 7-6. 

The Tigers defense started slow to open the second quarter. Whitehouse completed a long pass to senior Jermod McCoy, getting the Wildcats set at first and goal. 

The Whitehouse quarterback kept the ball and hit an open lane for a touchdown with 8:33 remaining in the second, making the score 13-7. 

In response to the Wildcat touchdown, freshman Tradarian Ball found a hole in the Whitehouse defensive line and broke open on a long run. Whitehouse was called for an illegal formation, pushing the Tigers to first and goal. 

Potter completed a handoff to Ball, who was taken down, but reached into the endzone for a Tiger touchdown, regaining the lead for Texas 14-13. 

The Whitehouse offense continued to pound the Tiger defense. Whitehouse quarterback junior Josh Green threw a dime down field to McCoy, who caught the pass in stride in man coverage for a touchdown with 2:29. The Tigers blocked the extra point kick, making the score 19-16.

Senior Keith Lewis returned the kick off to the 30 yard line, and a flag was called on Whitehouse for unnecessary roughness after the play, resulting in a 15 yard penalty. The Tigers were unable to capitalize on their last possession of the half, and trailed Whitehouse 16-19 going into halftime.

The Texas offense was slow coming out in the third quarter, keeping the ball for the first five minutes of the quarter. The opening five minutes were penalty filled, with each team trading flags. 

Finally, Potter completed a handoff to Ball, who ran 15 plus yards for his second touchdown of the night, giving the lead back to the Tigers 21-19. 

Whitehouse completed two long passes despite the Tiger’s tight man coverage, moving the ball down field quickly. 

Both teams traded penalties at the goal line, playing sloppy throughout the possession. Whitehouse came through with a touchdown in the back corner of the endzone, overcoming a pass interference, to regain the lead 26-21. 

The game continued in a sloppy manner throughout the remainder of the third quarter, with continuous holding penalties on both teams. At the end of the third, Whitehouse still led 26-21.

To open the fourth quarter, Potter completed a pass to junior Tamarcus Gray to get the Tigers to first and inches. 

Johnson converted the first and inches, then made three carries back-to-back to convert two first downs. Potter completed a handoff to Ball, who reached into the endzone for his third touchdown of the game. The Tigers went for a two point conversion, but Potter threw an incomplete pass, leaving the score at 27-26 Texas. 

Texas High’s senior Josh Stewart was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Whitehouse an automatic first down after a 15 yard penalty. 

Junior Timothy Austin and senior CJ Brown came up with two incredible plays in man coverage to break up two touchdown passes and force a Wildcat punt. 

The Tiger defense stayed hot through the middle of the fourth quarter, not letting any Wildcat get an open lane to run and breaking up passes thrown down field. The defensive line worked to beat the Wildcat offensive line, pressuring the quarterback.

Whitehouse threw a hail mary down field, completed and ran in for a touchdown with 1:40 left in the game, and failed to convert their two point conversion, giving Whitehouse the lead 32-27. 

Potter threw an interception to end the game, making the final score 32-27 Whitehouse and the Tiger’s district record 4-1.