It may be spring, but it felt like football season Thursday night in Tuscaloosa when the Demopolis Middle School Tigers took on Hillcrest Middle and Westlawn in a Jamboree contest.

Demopolis outscored Hillcrest 23-6 in two quarters of play and downed Westlawn 14-0 in one quarter.

“Going into the spring game, I was a little nervous,” DMS head coach Daniel Flowers said. “I was kind of surprised that with Hillcrest, we could run the football against them.”

Flowers said the difference between his 2010 team and the one that is readying to take the field in 2011 is depth.

“We had a total of 72 kids come out for the spring,” Flowers said. “I only took 49 to the game because we didn’t have enough helmets.”

The Tigers were able to move the ball efficiently on the ground with a number of runners and put together enough in the passing game to keep the pressure off its ground attack.

“We’ve got a lot of things to work on as far as offensive line,” Flowers said. “But with skill guys, we’re going to be a force. We’ve got a lot of young guys, a lot of sixth graders and a lot of seventh graders, that need to step it up. Thursday night, they did. This year it seem like the offense is going to be spread around a lot more.”

Demopolis saw James Reeves carry the ball 12 times for 125 yards and a touchdown against Hillcrest while also hitting Logan McVay on a 60-yard scoring pass.

Keishaun Scott carried the ball eight times for 57 yards and a touchdown against Hillcrest while also toting in a pair of two-point conversion runs.

A.J. Collier carried the ball eight times for 45 yards against Hillcrest. The two quarters of action against Hillcrest also saw DMS get an interception from McVay, fumble recoveries by Reeves and Marcus Wright, three sacks by Rahmael Cook and a sack from Malcolm Taylor.

Collier had six carries for 45 yards against Westlawn while Reeves ran for 52 yards and a score. Cook recorded six tackles for a loss while Scott ran the ball 10 times for 60 yards.

Demopolis Middle School is scheduled to open its 2011 season at home against Hillcrest Aug. 30. DMS hosts Chat Academy Sept. 6 and travels to face Chat Sept. 12. Sipsey Valley comes to call Sept. 19 with Sweet Water visiting Demopolis Sept. 26. The final three games of the season will come on the road against Carver-Eutaw Oct. 10, Thomasville Oct. 17 and Bibb County Oct. 24.