Improved Defense Couldn’t Stop the Tigers

Willow Springs fell to the Salem Tigers Friday night, with a score of 30-12.  Despite the disappointment of another loss, there was marked improvement in Willow's play, particularly on defense. Defensive players to watch included no. 55 Scooter Osbourne, who stopped a play that would've resulted in a Tiger touch down. Gennadiy Dudko stopped a conversion point, and Ian Smith ran the Salem quarterback out of bounds and prevented a touchdown.

In the second quarter, a tag team consisting of Taylor Rothermich and Gavin Ferguson , ran the ball down the Tigers line yard by yard, making multiple first downs. With 2:04 left on the clock, Ryan Koehler made the Bear's first touchdown, punching through a fierce Tiger defense that had thwarted all previous attempts.

After this, the Tigers took possession of the ball but could not break through the Bears’ defense. Gavin Ferguson made a notable tackle on a runner headed for the endzone. 

The third quarter started with the Tigers in possession deep in Bear territory. An interference penalty on the Tigers stopped their forward momentum. 

Brenden Ferguson got the ball into Tiger territory, and made a first down. Soon after, Rothermich snapped the ball to Gavin Ferguson who ran it into the end zone, scoring the Bears second and final touchdown. On both plays, the two-point conversion attempt failed. 

"We played hard, but sooner or later, playing hard just isn't good enough. We have to play smart," summed up Head Coach Joel Wyatt.

Next week, the Bears play the Houston Tigers at Palenske Field on October 8. Fresh from a stinging loss dealt to them by the Ava Bears, 42-7, Houston is hoping for a victory to add to their season. Willow is 1-5 in their season and 0-4 in the SCA. Houston is 2-4 in the season and 1-3 in the SCA.