Tigers roar past Middleton for 35-20 victory

The Mountain Home Tigers opened SIC 4A conference play with a 35-20 win Friday night at Middleton.

Jake Posey threw three touchdown passes and scored two others in the win.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but Mountain Home capped off a 10-play, 62-yard drive that started in the opening quarter and ended early in the second on a 36-yard scoring strike from Jake Posey to Kyle Kerfoot. The play came two plays after a 41-yard pass to Tallon Pauley was called back by a penalty. With John Deal's PAT, the Tigers led, 7-0, with 11:35 left in the first half.

Middleton went three-and-out their next series, and the Tigers moved the ball from their own 20 to score in five plays. A 46-yard pass play from Kyle Kerfoot to Nick Barrie put Mountain Home on the Viking 34. Jake Posey capped off the drive, scoring from nine yards out. John Deal's PAT was blocked by Middleton, but the Tigers led 13-0 with 8:42 left in the half.

The Vikings then moved the ball down the field 64 yards in 12 plays, Bobby Skinner taking it the final yard for the score. Eric Foreman's PAT made it 13-7, Tigers, with 2:51 left before halftime.

Middleton would score just 14 seconds later, when Eric Foreman intercepted a Jake Posey pass and took it 20 yards for a score.

Foreman then gave the Vikings the lead, 14-13, with his PAT with 2:37 left in the half.

Mountain Home quickly moved the ball down the field, but their drive stalled on the Middleton two-yard line, and the first half ended with the Vikings up 14-13.

The Tigers scored on their first possession of the second half, Jake Posey capping a five-play, 76-yard drive with a 43-yard romp for a score. Mountain Home faked the PAT kick, and Kyle Kerfoot passed to Billy Derome for the two-point conversion to put the Tigers up, 21-14, with 7:17 left in the third quarter.

Middleton capped off an 81-yard drive early in the fourth quarter as Eric Forman ran 13 yards for a score. Forman's PAT was no good, but a roughing the kicker penalty moved the ball closer. The Vikings went for two, but quarterback Skylr Davis was tackled short of the end zone, and the Tigers led, 21-20, with 11:15 left in the ball game.

A 35-yard kickoff return by Kyle Kerfoot put the Tigers in good field position at the 50. Three plays later, Jake Posey passed to Chris Knudson for a 34-yard touchdown. John Deal's PAT made it 28-20, Tigers, with 10:30 left.

The two teams then exchanged punts before Middleton had one last possession. They managed one first down, but turned the ball over on downs to the Tigers at their 46, with 2:06 left in the ball game.

Mountain Home was trying to get a first down to run out the clock. On fourth and 10 from the Viking 46, with 12 seconds left, Jake Posey threw to an all-alone Jesse Donez for a 46-yard score.

With John Deal's PAT, the Tigers led, 35-20, with two seconds left, as Mountain Home improved to 1-1 on the season.

Tiger head football coach Brian Floyd was happy to get the win, but was not happy with his team's effort in the win.

"We can do a lot better -- it seems more like a loss. We didn't play the way we can play. We did not wrap-up, and we worked on it all week long. I thought we hit harder, and we were more physical. Now we just need to wrap up and drive our legs.

"Offense-wise, we made stupid mistakes, like the block-in-the-back on the opening drive. Little things we need to clean up and do right, like running our routes correctly.

"It's frustrating, but I think the kids were frustrated, too, and they want to fix it."

Tallon Pauley, Jake Posey and Matt Ward all had good games rushing the ball for the Tigers. Pauley had 78 yards on 17 carries, Posey, 71 yards and two touchdowns on 13 rushes, and Matt Ward rushed for 67 yards on nine carries. Jesse Donez carried once for 17 yards, Billy Derome had two rushes for 11 yards, and Chris Knudson had three yards on four carries.

Jake Posey completed six of 13 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and had two passes picked off.

Kyle Kerfoot completed one pass for 46 yards. Nick Barrie caught two passes for 54 yards, Jesse Donez had one catch for 46 yards and a score, Tallon Pauley caught one pass for 42 yards, Kyle Kerfoot had one catch for 36 yards and a score, Chris Knudson caught one pass for 34 yards and a score, and Chris Maholick had a four-yard reception.

Defensively, Matt Ward led the Tigers with 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Billy Derome had eight tackles, Cal Vivier, five, Chris Knudson and Cameron Spaulding each had four, Knudson had three assists and a sack. Jesse Sloderbeck had half a sack.

The Tigers, now 1-1 on the season, and 1-0 in conference play, host the Columbia Wildcats Friday night at Tiger Field in conference football. The Wildcats are 2-1 on the season, and opened their conference season last week with a 42-14 win over Kuna.

"They're big, they're physical and they're going to come out and run the speed option and just take it to us," said Coach Floyd of Columbia. "We have to be physical and come out to protect our home. We have three home games in a row."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night at Tiger Field in Mountain Home.