By: Shayla Terry

Last Friday night’s battle of the Tigers came up short for Luverne High School. The Tigers were defeated by Elba High School 15-50.

“It wasn’t a very good experience,” Head Coach Scott Rials said. “The kind of hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond really well.”

In the first quarter of play, Luverne scored once. Sophomore quarterback Dionte (Tay) Brantley connected with senior wide receiver Antavious Brown for an 82-yard touchdown. Sophomore linebacker Chase White made good of the field goal attempt.

Even with putting some points on the board, the Tigers were still behind 7-14.

During the second quarter, Luverne did not capitalize on any scoring opportunities. Yet, Elba continued its stellar offensive run. The Elba Tigers score three times, making good on one out of three two-point conversion.

Going into half time, Luverne lagged 7-34.

“We actually played a little better in the second half,” said Rials.  “But we didn’t do a great job taking care of the ball, and we didn’t follow our assignments well.”

Opening the second half, the Tigers made an attempt to get back into the game. Junior running back Marcus McGhee ran 43 yards for a Tiger touchdown.

Luverne accomplished the two-point conversion when a freshman wide receiver completed a pass from Brantley.

Sadly, the Tigers would score no more. Elba continued to put points on the board with two more touchdowns and two successful conversions.

No team boasted points during the fourth quarter, leading to the final score of 15-50.

The Luverne Tigers are now 5-3.

This Friday, Luverne returns to Glenn Daniel’s Stadium to play Central Haynesville. The Central Lions have only won one game this football season.

“We’re looking to regroup, and go out there and put our best foot forward,” said Rials.

“If you get knocked down, then you just got to get back up.”