WOODVILLE, Ala. – After finishing with the third seed in Region 7, the Meek Tigers hit the road for a round one game at Woodville Friday night, and it was a nailbiter. Meek trailed 19-12 at halftime but dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 22-0 in the final frame to pull away with a huge, 42-25 win and secure a spot in the second round.
Woodville drove down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession to take an early, 7-0 lead but the Tigers responded before the end of the first quarter. Hunter Wyatt recovered a fumble to give Meek good field position and Aiden Benson took a handoff 37 yards for a touchdown to trim the lead to 7-6. That was the score headed into the second quarter.
Wyatt contributed on the offensive side of the ball early in the second quarter, scoring on a 9-yard run to put the Tigers in front 12-7. However, a 9-yard touchdown from the Panthers allowed Woodville to pull ahead 13-12 midway through the second quarter and they found the end zone one more time just before the end of the half to take a 19-12 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Tigers came out swinging to start the second half. Benson punched in a 2-yard touchdown run and ran in the two-point conversion to give Meek a 20-19 lead in the third quarter. Woodville answered with another scoring drive to take a 25-20 lead into the fourth quarter but a 13-yard touchdown run by Benson gave the Tigers a 26-25 lead with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Midway through the fourth, Evan McCay scored on a 1-yard run and Benson punched in another two-point conversion to stretch the lead to 34-25. On the ensuing kickoff, Meek recovered an onside kick to regain possession with great field position, and it didn’t take long for the Tigers to take advantage. Benson took his third touchdown run of the night into the end zone from 25 yards out and McCay punched in the two-point conversion to make it a 42-25 game with 3:30 on the clock.
Woodville was unable to answer the late onslaught from the Tigers and Meek punched its ticket to the second round with a 42-25 win over the Panthers.
Meek (8-3) will travel to play top-ranked Wadley (10-0) in round two next week.
Copyright 2025 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
