The Demopolis Middle School football team overcame adverse conditions Tuesday night to earn a 20-0 win over Sweet Water.

Rain and lightning delayed the start of the game for an hour, and both teams felt the effects of the rainy evening.

Demopolis opened the game with the ball and fumbled on its first two possessions. Despite being inside the Tigers’ 40 yard line on both drives, Sweet Water was unable to convert the field position into points. After the first quarter, both teams were tied at zero.

The second quarter went much like the first with little scoring. With 50 seconds to play, Demopolis put the first points of the game on the board after an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown by Alexander Besteder. Tyler Gamble ran in the two-point conversion to put the Tigers on top 8-0 right before halftime.

The 8-0 score held through the third quarter until, with 4:50 to play in the game, Antonio Besteder broke a 34-yard run for a score to put Demopolis up 14-0.

Late in the game as time was winding down, Juan McClain stripped the Sweet Water ball carrier and ran 65 yards for a touchdown for the final score of the game, putting Demopolis on top 20-0.

“Sweet Water is a team that came out here and played hard,” DMS head coach Jeremy Silcox said. “We made the most of some good fortune by converting two turnovers into touchdowns. We’ve got to learn to play in the rain, though. We made some mistakes because of it. There’s a lot to fix, but that also means that we can continue to get better.”

The Tigers’ next game will be Monday, Sept. 8 against York West End at the Demopolis Middle School field at 5:30 p.m.