Deer Park Freshmen Tigers fall short of TIFI title in 27-7 loss

MONT BELVIEU - The Deer Park Freshmen Tigers had one goal in mind when they stepped foot on Barbers Hill High School’s football field last Saturday morning for the Texas Intercity Football, Inc. (TIFI) Super Bowl.

They were in position to capture the program’s first TIFI Freshmen crown in 17 long years. But unlike the 2003 Tigers squad, there weren’t a whole lot of smiles at Eagle Stadium after the game.

The La Porte Texans reserved all of their scoring for the second and fourth quarters, taking advantage of two big plays to ignite the team to a 27-7 victory.

The Tigers closed out their campaign with a sweet 11-2 ledger. Both losses, the other in September, came against the Texans, who were a spotless 13-0.

Those La Porte kids saw something on the right side of the Tigers defensive alignment because their opening 13 points, the only points they would need on this day, were plays to that side of the field.

Quarterback Brook Stout looked left and connected with Charlie Gale for a pass-and-run that went for 48 yards and six points with 6:16 to play in the first half. Stout scored the PAT when he got away from the potential tackle of not one but two Tigers before finding the end zone.

An interception on the Tigers next possession led to a long-distance score on the very next play. A terrific run of 58 yards saw the ballcarrier scoot left and it was smooth sailing all the way to the end zone. On the interception, La Porte was whistled for a block-in-the-back infraction, pushing them back on their side of the field.

But as demonstrated seconds later, the Texans had no trouble eating up the additional yardage.

Speaking of bouncing back from penalties, that’s what La Porte had to do for its third touchdown. After the Tigers failed to move the chains deep in there own territory, the Texans began their possession with a holding call, pushing them back from the 32 to the 42.

But in four plays, the team had their victory-clinching points with the first play of the fourth quarter. Stout and Gale hooked up for a pass play that deposited the team in the red zone and three rushing plays later, it was a 19-7 lead.

Gale, who can probably pencil his name on La Porte High School’s 2028 varsity football team right now, finished with 145 all-purpose yards. In addition to his big pass receptions, the youngster also had rushes of 20 and 35 yards. His 35-yarder was just a simple up-the-gut excursion that eventually led to the team’s fourth TD with 15 seconds remaining in the game.

The Tigers were essentially their own worst enemy, something they couldn’t afford to be against a team of the Texans caliber. Head coach Adam Cox’s crew lost two fumbles on top of the interception. They would have lost a third fumble were it not for the alertness of Landyn Reynolds.

But for Tigers quarterback Harper Wilson, the youngster would probably rank this experience on the same level as a trip to the dentist.

The one offensive bright spot was again the play of A.J. Beard. Though he was responsible for one of the fumbles, Beard still managed to leave Mont Belvieu with 93 all-purpose yards. Half of that total came on a 45-yard touchdown run with 2:24 remaining in the second quarter, cutting La Porte’s lead in half at 13-7.

But Beard and Co., didn’t return on offense again until 3:25 remained in the third quarter. The Texans ate up the last 2:24 of the first half and then got the second-half kickoff and went on a clock-eating, nine-play possession.

The Tigers defense stopped the Texans on the 13 and still only down 13-7, but the Tigers were only able to take 12 second-half snaps from center, severely hurting their chances for a come-from-behind win.