The Blountstown Tigers traveled to Bonifay Friday night for the season opener for both schools.
Blountstown had defeated Wewa and Bonifay had defeated Graceville in kickoff classics the previous week. It was a hard hitting ball game, but Tiger penalties and untimely mistakes were the difference in the game as Holmes County prevailed, 15-6.
The Tigers will have to put the loss out of their minds as they prepare for another tough opponent, Chipley, this Friday night in Chipley with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CT.
The Tiger offense struggled Friday night producing only 82 yards of rushing on 30 attempts and 39 yards of passing on 3 of 14 completions. Holmes County defenders seemed to be in the backfield before quarterback Hunter Jordan handed off to a runningback or got set to pass. The Tiger offensive line is young with the exception of senior Patrick Pitts and will get better with experience.
Jawon Mosley led the Tigers with 38 yards rushing followed by Jordan with 35. The Tigers only managed 7 first downs against the Blue Devils.
The Tigers started their first possession at the Bonifay 37 and turned the ball over after failing to move on four downs. The next Tiger drive moved the ball 12 yards in 5 plays before punting.
The Blue Devils drove 52 yards in 8 plays to set up a 24 yard field goal that split the uprights for a 3-0 lead.
The next Tiger drive went backwards, losing 16 yards in three plays along with a penalty. Bonifay took over at the Tiger 27 and scored in four plays on a 14 yard run. The PAT failed, but Holmes County led, 9-0.
The Tigers got the spark they needed on the ensuing kickoff when Jawon Mosley weaved his way through the middle, hit the sideline, and outran everyone 80 yards to the endzone. The extra point kick failed, but the Tigers were back in the game, 6-9.
Anthony Curry intercepted a Bonifay pass near midfield on the next possession and set the Tigers up on the Blue Devil 33 yard line after a 15 yard return.
Once again, the Tiger offense could not move the football and squandered a great scoring opportunity.
The Tigers had another scoring chance late in the first half with a first down at the Blue Devil 19. Three passes fell incomplete and one run gained a yard.
Early in the third period the Tigers had a first down at the Holmes Count 14, but some bobbled snaps and two penalties ended that threat.
Bonifay drove 80 yards in 13 plays to go ahead 15-6 early in the fourth quarter.
Javakiel Brigham led the Tiger defense with 11 tackles including 1/2 a sack and a tackle for a loss.
Anthony Curry, Anthony Williams, Corin Peterson, Bobby Andrews, Chris Byrne, Patrick Pitts, and Jawon Mosley were all in on at least 5 tackles.
