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Jalyn Daniels had two long touchdown runs
Photos by Kyle Thornton

Tigers fall to 0-2 with loss in Wetumpka

By Michael Butler

For the second consecutive week, Tallassee renewed a rivalry with an old foe. The result; however, was the same. The Tigers lost to Wetumpka on Friday at Hohenburg Field 35-14.

Tallassee enters an off week with an 0-2 record before region play begins.

Like the return of the Reeltown game eight days prior, the Wetumpka game returned to the schedule after a 17-year hiatus. Tallassee has played no other team more than the Indians. The matchup dates back to 1921.

"We knew what we were going up against," Tallassee head coach Mike Battles said. "It's no secret. They've got a really good football team. When I scheduled this game with coach (Tim) Perry. I looked at it as a way for us to play a great opponent and get us ready for the region."

Wetumpka, a Class 6A school, ran its win streak to nine games in the series. Tallassee leads the overall 35-31-2.

The Indians took advantage of an interception in the Tigers' first series and scored on their first offensive play with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Robert Rose to Tavarse Murphy. Wetumpka scored three more times before half to lead 28-0 at the intermission.

The lead was 35-0 in the third quarter before Tallassee finally got on the scoreboard with a 49-yard scamper by Jalyn Daniels. Daniels raced down the sideline agsin for a 75-yard score in the final frame. He finished with a career-high 133 yards on 12 carries.

Linebacker Will Smith in pursuit

"I was a little disappointed in the way we played in the first half. We might have been a little timid, a little shell-shocked," Battles added. "In the second half we played well. I was just glad we came back out and fought. We can build off of that."

Wetumpka finished with 370 yards of total offense to Tallassee's 201 and had a decisive first down advantage 21-6. Rose was 15-of-20 through the air with 189 yards and two TDs.

Tallassee returns to J. E. "Hot" O'Brien Stadium on Sept. 11 to play Sylacauga for Senior Night. The two teams last met in 2015.