Published: November 04, 2009 09:58 am      

Tigers looking for win number four

There will be no playoff spot on the line when the Ethel High School Tigers take the field to face East Oktibbeha tonight (Thursday) in the season-ender for both teams.

There is no chance for a winning record, but that doesn't mean that the game isn't important.

"It's huge," said EHS head coach Paul Dees. "For all we have gone through if we could win four games it would be nice. You always like to end the season on a winning note."

But he also knows it won't be easy.

"They have got a good ball club," Dees said of the homestanding Titans. "They took Weir to five overtimes and beat French Camp. They run an offense (a version of the Notre Dame Box) that you just don't see much of and that causes some confusion."

After getting off to a 2-1 start, the Tigers began to run into the injury bug. Ethel snapped a six-game losing streak with a 22-6 win over visiting Thomastown last Friday night.

"I thought we played pretty well," Dees said of his team's effort. "We really thought we could do more offensively, but the weather affected our passing."

But when Ethel did pass, it was very effective.

Dempsey completed 3-of-5 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Deangelo Hall had two catches for 32 yards and a touchdown, while Antwon McCain had one reception for a 44-yard score.

Senior Troymun Hawthorne led the Ethel rushing attack with 14 carries for 79 yards, while Michael Erving had four carries for 51 yards and a score and Antez Hopkins had six attempts for 50 yards.

John Dees led EHS with nine tackles, while Channin Green had eight stops and Dustin Wood had seven tackles and an interception. Erving had an interception to go with his five tackles.

Ethel took a quick 8-0 lead in the game, only to have Thomastown cut it to 8-6. But the Tigers led 16-6 at the half and picked up the game's final touchdown in the third quarter.