Smithville’s Early Mistakes Prove Costly in 47-7 Loss to Giddings

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

GIDDINGS—After giving his team their post-game speech, Smithville head coach Layne Neumann’s players began heading off the field. But he stood on the sidelines, watching his Giddings counterpart enjoy his first win.

That taste of a first victory is something Coach Neumann had hoped to savor on Friday night against the winless Buffaloes. But a first half filled with penalties, turnovers, and miscues was too much to overcome to seal that first victory for Smithville’s head coach.

“We fought hard, but we’ve got to clean up the little mistakes,” Neumann said after the game. “We made too many mistakes in the first quarter to put us in a 21-point hole, just like that. That's hard to come back from.”

Smithville started the game with a great kickoff return, bringing the ball nearly to midfield. But before their first play from scrimmage, they had to burn a timeout to avoid a delay of game, and two plays later quarterback Trip Davis threw an interception.

Giddings immediately went to their powerful ground game, setting up first-and-goal on the 7-yard line. But two big penalties brought them back to the 28, and the Smithville defense was able to hold the Buffaloes to a field goal.

With 6:44 left in the first quarter, and only down by three, the Tigers were in a good position. But they muffed the ensuing kickoff, pinning them down inside their own 5-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Davis threw a lateral that fell in the end zone and rolled out of bounds, giving Giddings 2 points on a safety.

The Buffaloes took the free kick, marching down the field for a touchdown drive. And just like that, Smithville was down 12-0 with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.

Instead of coming out on their next offensive series with poise, the Tigers had a flag on the ensuing kickoff, and then a bad snap that made it second-and-20. It was too many yards to make up and Smithville had to punt on fourth down.

The Buffaloes capitalized on Smithville’s errors, scoring a touchdown to open the second quarter, extending their lead to 19-0 with 11:11 left in the second quarter.

The Tigers came out on their next offensive series and strung together a nice drive. Davis hit wide receiver Eric Thompson along the sideline and the speedy senior scampered 50 yards for the score. But a holding penalty took the points off the board.

On the next play Davis had his pass tipped and it fell right into the arms of a Giddings defender for another turnover.

The Buffaloes went to their ground game and put together a nice drive. But the Tiger defense stepped up and came up with a big fourth-down stop, giving Smithville the ball back with 6:27 left in the second quarter.

But the Tiger offense started the new drive with a penalty, had another bad snap, and ended up going three-and-out.

Giddings responded with another touchdown, extending their lead to 26-0 at the half.

“We didn't come out calm and confident. We came out like deer in the headlights. And we can't do that,” Neumann said. “We’ve got to be ready to go from the first snap.”

Smithville came out in the second half with more focus and fewer mental errors and penalties. But bad snaps continued to plague the offense, leading to a second safety of the game in the third quarter.

That safety put Giddings up 41-0 and with the 40-point differential, the continuous clock rule was used for the remainder of the game.

Despite being down big, the Tigers did not give in. They put together a nice drive to start the fourth quarter, even overcoming a holding penalty that erased a completion. On a big third-and-20, Davis connected with Thompson, who took a vicious hit, knocking him out of the game.

Giddings was penalized on the play, giving the Tigers first-and-goal on the 7. Running back Justin Gurley was able to punch it in, giving the Tigers their first score of the night.

The late score helped the Tigers avoid the shutout. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the costly mistakes early on, and Smithville lost 47-7.

“It's frustrating, because I know how hard our boys work, and they fight hard,” Neumann said. “They mean well, they battle. You know, it's just a hump we’ve got to get over.”

Smithville will travel to rival La Grange next week to take on the 1-1 Leopards.