Last Friday night, the Stockton Tigers traveled to Diamond to take on the winless, but competitive, Diamond Wildcats. Adding motivation for the hosts, Diamond High School was celebrating homecoming. On a beautiful evening with the entire game played under the lights, what was scheduled as a football game turned into a track meet as both defenses struggled while their offenses were operating at full capacity. It appeared the team with the ball at the end would be the winner as neither defense seemed capable of stopping their opponent. When the clock finally struck zero, the Tigers slipped away with a sorely needed victory, outscoring Diamond 44-33.
In the first quarter, Diamond scored on their first possession with a 12 play, 62 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Stockton answered on the next possession, taking an 8-7 lead into the second quarter. Over the next four possessions, both teams scored touchdowns. At the half, Stockton led 24-21.
On the opening possession of the third quarter, the Tigers were finally able to make a stop. After the punt, a two play drive, punctuated by a thrilling 77 yard sprint by Chase Gregory, gave the Tigers a two possession lead at 30-21. Diamond refused to fold, answering with a touchdown of their own with 5:50 remaining in the third period with Stockton clinging to a 30-27 lead. On Stockton’s next possession, an eight play drive appeared to end in a Cannon Brown score but officials ruled a fumble just before Brown crossed the goal line. Diamond recovered the fumble and returned it to the 48 yard line, giving Diamond the ball near midfield. On the last play of the quarter, Diamond scored, taking a 33-30 lead into the final frame.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers recovered the short kick at the 50 yard line and found the end zone six plays later, regaining the lead at 36-33. On the following possession, the Tiger defense was finally able to force a turnover as Diamond threw an interception with 6:35 remaining in the game. As they had done all game, the Tigers ran the ball, burning off nearly four minutes before scoring again to take a 44-33 lead. With under two minutes remaining, the Tiger defense forced a second turnover, recovering a fumble and icing the victory for the Tigers. Stockton escaped with the win, improving to 2-4 on the season.
The offensive stats were astounding for both teams. The Tigers ran for 443 yards with zero yards passing, averaging 8.7 yards per play. Chase Gregory had a game he’ll never forget, rushing for 257 yards on 28 carries. In fact, four separate Tigers had 50 yards or more rushing. Diamond had 298 yards of total offense, including 199 yards on the ground, averaging 4.7 per play. On defense, Henry Abercrombie had 10 tackles including 3 tackles for a loss in addition to 6 tackle assists. As if Gregory didn’t do enough on offense, he added 4 tackles, 4 tackle assists, and an interception on the defensive side of the ball.
This Friday, the Tigers host the 3-3 Pierce City Eagles. It will be homecoming at Joe Price Stadium.
