After its painful 60-0 season opener, the Smithville Tigers put up a strong fight against the Wharton Tigers on Friday night, but fell 42-41 on the last drive of the game.
“It was a tremendous improvement from the first week,” said head coach Justin Wiley. “Overall, we’re young and will continue to get better each week.”
Smithville (0-2) had an impressive first half during their first home game of the season, scoring three touchdowns and giving up no turnovers.
However, it was a battle of the Tigers in the second.
Smithville took a 20-13 lead into the locker room after a 2-yard pass from quarterback Justin Teague found running back Ethan Paxon in the endzone with 2:34 left in the half.
In the third quarter, however, the game changed dramatically when Smithville turned the ball over twice in three minutes and Wharton running back Deshavian Williams scored back-to-back touchdowns.
Williams then made another touchdown with five seconds remaining in the third, bringing the score to 34-20 Wharton.
“He’s fast,” Wiley said, referring to Williams. “We talked about how we had to keep him contained and he broke two big runs on us.”
Smithville came back in the fourth quarter, starting with Teague’s touchdown on a 20-yard run (kick failed) with 10:23 remaining.
After a strong defensive stand, Smithville got the ball back and running back Jacorey Lincoln ran 52 yards for another touchdown.
The kick was good, putting Smithville back on top 41-34 with 2:37 remaining.
Wharton, however, drove the ball 80 yards downfield and scored on a 2-yard run with 32 seconds remaining on the clock.
They went for it all and converted the 2-point attempt to go up 42-41, escaping Smithville with a win.
Wiley said it was frustrating to lose to a 2-point conversion, especially after Smithville’s remarkable comeback.
“What we have to learn is how to finish the game and put the game away,” Wiley said. “Our offensive line was much better this past week and we opened up a rushing game. We rushed for 300 yards compared to 20 the week before.”
On Friday, Smithville will be facing the Wimberley Texans, who are ranked No. 4 in Class 3A away from home, which Wiley said will be a positive challenge.
“They’re good,” Wiley said. “They rely heavily on their running back and they have some big offensive lineman. But, the reason I made our schedule tough is we are in the second toughest 3A district in the state and we have to prepare for that.”