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The Demopolis Tigers were tested in the first two weeks of the season by Mountain Brook and Class 4A No. 1 Jackson.

While the Tigers weren’t able to pull out the upset in either game, it appears like it prepared the Tigers for region play.

Since those two games the Tigers have rolled off four straight wins to take sole possession of Class 5A, Region 3. All of the wins in region play have been convincing wins, including a dominating win over Shelby County last week, who didn’t have a region loss prior to playing Demopolis.

Head coach Lance Tucker said playing a tough schedule early can reap benefits.

“If you have the right kind of team, getting tested early can help you get ready for region play,” Tucker said. “I think we had the right team this year, and it’s really helped us over the past four weeks.”

The stretch has put Demopolis in great position to clinch the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and prepare to make a playoff run.

Tucker realizes that they can’t rest on their laurels of the 3-0 start to region play. He is using the example of Alabama losing to Vanderbilt the week after they defeated Georgia in a huge matchup.

“What happened to Alabama shows you that you have to show up every week,” Tucker said. “We have to keep playing hard each week and prepare for each team we play.”

Last time out

The Demopolis Tigers put together an impressive game in a showdown of region unbeatens Friday night at Shelby County.

The Tigers put up 279 yards of total offense including 189 yards on the ground to dominate the Wildcats in a 35-8 win Friday night. Demopolis also had a pair of turnovers on defense that helped seal the win.

“Shelby County is a great team,” Tucker said. “We we able to be physical and get some tough yardage all night. I was especially proud of the defense the way they played all night. They got us a couple of turnovers and returned one of them for a touchdown. That’s a recipe for a good night.”

Demopolis (4-2, 3-0 in region play) will host Sipsey Valley this Friday night. 

Jake Powell threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to D’Quarius Banks. Jose Tellez hit the extra point to give Demopolis a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Keishawn Rowser scored the first of his touchdowns in the second quarter on a 40-yard touchdown run. Tellez made the extra point to give them a 14-0 lead.

A couple of minutes later, Rowser had a 75-yard touchdown run that put the Tigers up 21-0 after a Tellez kick.

A few minutes later, Jaterryon Howard, assisted by Jakohri Johnson with additional pressure, caused a fumble of the Shelby County quarterback. Austin Wright picked up the loose ball and returned it for the touchdown to put the Tigers up 28-6.

The final touchdown came after an Emonte’ Charleston, who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, but the return was called back for a penalty. The Tigers then added the final touchdown on a moments later for the final score.

Here is a look at other games this season:

Demopolis 0, Mountain Brook 28

The Tigers played hard but couldn’t keep up with the Spartans. 

Several Tigers made great plays on defense including Austin Wright who earned a tackle for loss and a sack that ended a Spartan drive in the red zone. Wright and Josiah Colgrove also combined to end a threat before halftime.

Demopolis 20, Jackson 42

The Demopolis Tigers went on the road to take on the top team in Class 4A, Jackson, and the homesteading Aggies proved their ranking by defeating the Tigers 42-20.

Demopolis 40, Montevallo 7

The win streak started with the Montevallo game on homecoming.

After facing a three-and-out, Jake Bumgarner opened the game with a punt return for a touchdown. Tellez’ kick gave Demopolis a 7-0 lead. 

Josiah Colgrove and Alexander Mullings prevented a first down on the next series. Banks completed a pass to Bryant Deas to pick up a first down on fourth-and-8. 

Banks hit Rowser on a pop pass to set the Tigers up in the red zone. Banks called his own number to give the Tigers an 11-yard touchdown to make it 13-0.

Ben Johnson scored from 36 yards out to add another touchdown. Tellez added a PAT to make it 20-0.

The Tigers appeared to go for a field goal on fourth and goal, but a Montevallo penalty made the Tigers change their minds. The opted to go with a full-house backfield and hand it off to Rowser for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 26-0.

Jamarcus Vawters and Wright got a tackle for loss on the next possession to force a Bulldog punt. Carlow James capped off the two-minute drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with seconds remaining before the half. Tellez made the PAT to give the Tigers a 33-0 lead at halftime. 

James had a big return to midfield to open the second half. The Tigers capitalized with a 52-yard touchdown run by Rowser. Tellez made it 40-0 with the extra point.

The Bulldogs got their only score of the game on a touchdown late in the third quarter. The game featured a running clock in the fourth quarter.

Demopolis 41, Selma 0

Demopolis used a balance attack to defeat the home-standing Selma Saints 41-0 at Memorial Stadium.

The game started slow, but Demopolis struck first at the three-minute mark of the first quarter to go up 7-0. Kieshawn Rowser scored a touchdown from 16 yards out. Jose Tellez added the extra point.

Moments into the second quarter, Rowser added another touchdown, this time from eight yards out to go up 14-0 with 9:04 to go in the second quarter. 

The Tigers blocked a punt right before half and scored a touchdown to take a commanding 21-0 lead at halftime. Wide receiver D’quarius Banks moved to quarterback for the play and found Bryant Deas for the 13-yard touchdown. 

Demopolis then added back-to-back touchdowns, the second of which was set up by a recovery on the kickoff, to build a 34-0 lead headed to the final frame. Carlow James scored from seven yards out on the first score while Jake Powell hit Banks for a 14-yard touchdown on the second score.

The final touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run by Jamarcus Davis.

Demopolis 35, Aliceville 14

The Demopolis Tigers continued its winning streak on Friday, as they defeated Aliceville 35-14 in a non-region game.

The Tigers got off to a great start as Keishawn Rowser scored on a 16-yard touchdown run. Jose Tellez added the extra point to make it 7-0.

Tellez got in on the action as he scored a 5-yard touchdown run on a sweep handoff from D’Quarius Banks to make it 14-0 after Tellez extra point.

In the second quarter, Banks had a big scramble, where he made many of the Aliceville defenders miss, to set up a Jake Powell 21-yard touchdown strike to Fred Aldridge. Powell called his own number on the 2-point try to give Demopolis a 22-0 lead.

Tellez then took a pop pass from Banks on the sweep 10 yards for another touchdown. Penalties backed up the extra point for Tellez, but he was able to make the kick from 42 yards to give Demopolis a 29-0 lead at halftime.

The final score of the game came from Jake Bumgarner pick-6 from 35 yards out to make it 35-0.

Aliceville added two touchdowns late, one on a 31-yard pass and another right before the game ended, but Demopolis still cruised to the victory.

Up next

Demopolis sits atop of the region standings. They already have a tiebreaker against Shelby County, who was previously unbeaten prior to Friday night.

Here are the final games of the regular season:

• Sipsey Valley (4-3, 1-2 in region play) has wins over Greene County (56-32), Jemison (40-28), Marbury (35-32) and Aliceville (55-13). Their losses came from Jasper (48-28), Shelby County (15-7) and Northside (51-14).

“Sipsey Valley has probably the best quarterback we will face all year long,” Tucker said. “They are a matchup problem for us. They play hard. We will have to come out and play our best to beat them.”

• Jemison (0-6, 0-4) has lost to St. Clair County, Chilton County, Selma, Shelby County, Sipsey Valley and Sylacauga. The only game that wasn’t lost by double digits was a 28-27 loss to Chilton County.
• Northside (6-1, 3-1 in region play) has defeated West Blocton, Cordova, Montevallo, Selma in overtime (26-20), Lincoln and Sipsey Valley. Their only loss was a 35-28 loss to Shelby County. Northside would have to win out to have a chance to get a home game in the playoffs. A win by Demopolis would clinch the region championship unless Northside loses prior to its matchup in final region game.
• Wetumpka (3-3) is a non-region game for senior night. They have defeated Beauregard (19-14), Rehobeth (34-19) and Eufaula (14-3). Their losses were from Chelsea (15-14), Russell County (21-17) and Pike Road (17-12). The Indians currently 1-2 in region play still have a chance to make the playoffs in Class 6A, Region 2.

“We have to keep playing every week and prepare for each opponent,” Tucker said.