by Vi Burgess & Emily Caldwell, editor-in-chief & staff reporter
After the scheduled first game of the season against Copperas Cove was canceled, the Tigers lost to ninth-ranked Richmond Foster at home on Friday, September 2. Both Consol and Foster kept the game close up into the first quarter, and traded leads throughout the game. However, Foster pulled away with an additional touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Wide receiver and senior Tony Williams scored the first touchdown of the game after a 14-yard pass from quarterback and junior Cade Williams in the first quarter with just over a minute on the clock. However, Foster quickly responded with a 79-yard pass to tie the score 33 seconds before the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers attempted to regain their lead in the second quarter, with wide receiver and sophomore Stevie Ray catching a pass from Cade Williams to score a second touchdown. With barely half a minute on the clock, Foster again tied the Tigers for a halftime score of 14-14.
Foster gained 72 yards to quickly score a third touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter. The Tigers tried to tie the score again with a pass from Cade Williams to wide receiver and senior Burl Carraway, which led to a touchdown and tie in the first play of the fourth quarter. Linebacker and senior Tyon Merchant led Consol to regain their lead by intercepting a 53-yard catch, but Foster scored two touchdowns at the end of the game for final score of 34-28 to the Foster Falcons.
“We played really well. The kids played real hard,” Coach Kelly Abercrombie, head of the defensive line, said. “We made some plays and they made some plays and they just made one more than we did.”
Check out a gallery of the game below:
