COURTLAND, Ala. – The Meek Tigers were on the road to face R.A. Hubbard in the opening round of the 1A State Playoffs Friday night and after falling behind early in the first quarter, the Tigers rallied, took control of the game, and raced past the Chiefs 52-20 to advance to round two for the first time in 18 seasons.
R.A. Hubbard scored the first two touchdowns on the night to take an early, 12-0 lead but the Tigers began to build momentum when Cam Deaver punched one into the end zone from a yard out to cut the lead to 12-6. Meek got some points on the defensive side of the ball when a high snap sailed over the Chiefs quarterback’s head and Jarrett Benson scooped it up and ran it in for a Tigers’ touchdown early in the second quarter. Matthew Clark ran in the two-point conversion and Meek moved in front 14-12.
A short touchdown pass gave R.A. Hubbard a 20-14 lead with just over four minutes to play in the second quarter but the Tigers responded with a 19-yard touchdown run from Ethan Grace that put Meek back in front 22-20 after the two-point conversion. The Chiefs got the ball back late in the first half, but Ory Frith picked off a pass and ran it all the way down inside the 15-yard line to give the Tigers another scoring opportunity. Blake Miller took advantage of the opportunity and punched one in from 6 yards out to give Meek a 30-20 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
The Tigers didn’t let up in the third quarter. Miller capped off another scoring drive with another touchdown run to extend the lead to 38-20 early in the third and Meek ended the third quarter with a fourth down sack by Benson. Another score stretched the lead to 46-20 early in the fourth quarter and with just under six minutes to play in the game, Deaver broke free from 36 yards out to make it a 52-20 game and put things out of reach for R.A. Hubbard. The Tigers held on to win it 52-20 and advance to round two for the first time since 2003.
A special 2021 season continues for the Meek Tigers at home next week when they host Woodland.
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