If you would have asked any of the Collierville faithful after the Cordova game that if the Dragons had good shot to beat Arlington most would have said no chance or very small at best. It’s amazing what a week can do for a football team because the Dragons didn’t look like the same team from the week before. The Collierville team that stepped on the field against Arlington played one of the best offensively efficient games that has been seen in recent history. The Dragons offense racked up 396 total yards for the game with 320 yards coming from the running game. Collierville’s defense caused four turnovers (three fumbles and one interception) with 16 points coming from those turnovers. Special teams played well with Dylan Scott having multiple touchbacks on kickoffs, going 3 for 3 on field goals (22,27, & 29 yards) in the game, however the key factor is that Collierville was so efficient on offense that the Dragons didn’t attempt a punt. (The Dragons didn’t get into punt formation) Collierville gets a big win against the Tigers 44-30, snapping a 6 game losing streak.
On Arlington’s first drive, Dragon’s defensive back Zack Mitchell recovered a tiger fumble at the Collierville 19, with the Dragons putting together a long drive and scoring on a 29 yard field goal by Dylan Scott for the early lead. On the next Arlington offensive series, Blake Stigger recovered another tiger fumble with the Dragons taking over at the Arlington 17. Peyton McCay scored on an 8 yard run (PAT was good by Scott) for a 10-0 lead. Late in the 1st quarter, The Tigers get on the board with a 99 yard kickoff return (PAT was good) to cut the lead 10-7. Early in the 2nd quarter, Collierville drove down the field to score on the 19 yard pass play from Matt Connors to Justin Fowlkes (PAT was good by Scott) for a 17-7 lead. Collierville’s defense caused another tiger turnover with Chris Parrino’s interception on the Tiger 40 yard line that led to a 22 yard field goal by Scott for a 20-7 lead. The Tigers ball protection didn’t get any better with another fumble caused and recovery by the Dragon’s Wyatt Raines that led to another Collierville field goal (29 yards) by Scott to extend the lead 23-7. Ed Pomphrett ran back a 46 yard punt return to the Arlington 29 to setup a 2 yard touchdown run by McCay (PAT was good by Scott) for his second touchdown of the game. With 0:25 seconds until halftime, the Tigers score on a 20 yard touchdown pass play (PAT was good) for a halftime score of Collierville leading Arlington 30-14. Collierville started the 2nd half with a long sustaining drive that took over 4 ½ minutes off the clock. The Dragons end the drive on a 1 yard touchdown run by Connors (PAT was good by Scott) to push the lead to 37-14. After Cole Johnson blocked a Tiger punt, the Dragons put together another scoring drive that was capped off by McCay’s 3rd touchdown of the game (PAT was good by Scott) for a commanding 44-14 lead. The Tigers didn’t throw in the towel, they scored on a 13 yard touchdown run (2 point conversion was good), and a 43 yard touchdown pass play (PAT was good) late in the game but it wasn’t enough. Collierville played better in every aspect of the game to give the Tigers their second loss of the season. Final Score: Arlington 30, Collierville 44. The Dragons get their first win against the Tigers since 2009. With four straight district games left on the schedule, Collierville holds its own destiny to where they are to be placed in the state playoffs. If the Dragons show up to play like they did against the Tigers, they will be hard to beat.
When asked about the team’s performance, Coach O’Neill stated “We had some tough practices this week. We challenged them and the players met that challenge. Our goal was to play football and have fun tonight, be as coachable as possible and do what you learned this week. We did an about face this week and I couldn’t be more proud of my team. ”
Collierville’s next game will be at home against district rival Houston on Friday October 2nd at 7:00 pm.
