Tigercats lose league game to Touchet

The LWK Tigercats continue to battle in hopes of earning the first win of the season, but faced defeat in Touchet last Friday. The Indians ran away with the win, defeating the Tigercats easily with a final score of 58-6.

While the Tigercats have struggled to maintain close games, head coach Justin Ziebell said the team is constantly making improvements and the athletes never give up. The team continues to focus on the smaller victories in the game instead of the final score in order to improve for the next competition.

Ziebell said the game went in favor of the Indians instantly, when they ran back the opening kickoff against the Tigercats defense. The Indians then blocked the Tigercats’ punt minutes later and ran the ball back for a touchdown.

The Tigercats did not let the early score deter them from fighting for possession and pushing towards the end zone during the night. Ziebell said the running backs performed well throughout the game, and managed to put up six points against Touchet’s varsity athletes, which served as the highlight for the game.

The Tigercats proved to be their own enemy as they struggled with penalties and fumbles throughout the night, Ziebell said. While the Tigercats had multiple fumbles, they maintained possession but still gave up yardage and downs because of the mistakes.

Bo Rice led the Tigercats during the Touchet game when he marched 61 yards downfield to put up the Tigercats’ only points in the game. Rice had 135 rushing yards on the night, while his brother Chance Rice had 74 passing yards from the quarterback position.

Stephen Erickson also stepped up to help the Tigercats gain key yardage in the game, and Ziebell said he is constantly improving as an athlete. Ziebell said he excelled at keeping his legs moving, even when he ran into contact, and gained extra yards that way.

“He (Erickson) ran pretty well, he learned a lot from the last couple of games,” Ziebell said. “We’ve been teaching him to cover the ball and he didn’t fumble at all.”

Ziebell said the team is still working on perfecting the new offensive plays and formations, but adding the new formations has helped the team not be so one-dimensional. Ziebell said that worked to their advantage last week, and with the improvement in pass coverage, the team is making steps in the right direction.

“Our pass coverage has got quite a bit better since we went to a zone pass protection and out of a man-to-man,” Ziebell said.

The Tigercats are expecting Joey Guske to return to the quarterback position this week against St. John, and Ziebell said Guske has been practicing all week. Guske and Chance Rice will split defensive time on the field to continue utilizing Rice’s talents while simultaneously allowing Guske to rest.

Ziebell expects the Friday match up to be a tough competition for the Tigercats as the St. John team has an outstanding running back and solid quarterback. Wade West is a running back and linebacker for St. John and Ziebell believes stopping West is the key to the game.

The Tigercats visit St. John Friday for a 7 p.m. game.