Tigers Battle Back Late but Fall 48-27 to Navarro

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

For three quarters, the Smithville Tigers couldn't slow down the Navarro Panthers' ground attack. But after a fourth-quarter fumble recovery, the crowd came alive, the sideline roared, and the Tigers showed head coach Layne Neumann the type of play he has been waiting to see all year.

“That fourth quarter is what I've been wanting to see this entire year,” Neumann said after the game. “Our kids kept fighting to the very end. They were excited on the sideline. They were making plays. They believed in themselves. Our fans were in it, our coaches were in it.”

Navarro stunned Smithville early, taking the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. From there, the Panthers' option-heavy offense went to work, mixing fakes and misdirection that kept the Tigers on their heels. By the end of the first quarter, Navarro led 20-0 and Smithville had few answers.

The Panthers added two more scores in the second quarter to push the lead to 34-0 before Smithville was finally able to answer. Quarterback Rorry Johnson led a steady four-minute drive capped by a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Dameon Fletcher, cutting the deficit to 34-7 at the break.

Johnson repeatedly took hard hits throughout the night but continued to get back up and make plays. Coach Neumann credited Johnson’s work as a steer wrangler and cowboy for the toughness of his quarterback.

“He's just a tough kid. He's hard to bring down. He's going to continue to fight, continue to push,” Neumann said following the game.

Johnson kept fighting to move the ball on offense, but two turnovers and penalties in the third quarter stalled Smithville’s drives. Navarro capitalized on a fumble recovery to extend the lead to 41-7.

Then came the fourth quarter.

Just two minutes into the final frame, with Navarro driving, junior lineman Garrett Wilhelm recovered a fumble, waking up the crowd and energizing the sideline. The Tigers put together a short but productive drive, with Johnson connecting with Fletcher again for a touchdown, trimming the Navarro lead to 41-13.

On the ensuing drive, the Tiger defense held Navarro to just three plays, forcing a punt with just under six minutes left in the game.

Johnson led the Tigers on another drive, and on fourth-and-2, he broke down the sideline for a 50-yard scamper to the end zone, cutting the lead to 41-21.

With the sideline pumped up and the stands screaming, Smithville went for an onside kick and appeared to recover it for a touchdown. But the play was called back on a controversial call that had coaches fuming and fans booing.

Navarro responded on the next drive with another touchdown, extending its lead to 48-21 with 2:11 left in the game.

But the Tigers displayed that Smithville grit and refused to give in. On their next drive they got to fourth-and-12 with the ball on the 47 and Johnson heaved it downfield into double coverage. The Navarro defenders tipped the ball and it fell right into the waiting hands of Fletcher, who strolled in for his third touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion was no good, and the score remained 48-27.

The Tigers recovered an onside kick on the next play but ran out of time and fell to Navarro 48-27.

The loss drops Smithville to 0-8 on the season with district powerhouse Wimberley and Salado on the schedule to finish the season.

“It's been a hard, tough road the last year and a half. Our kids have just got to keep believing and knowing the last two games, anything's possible,” Neumann said. “We’ve just got to believe in ourselves, believe in each other, believe in the team, believe in the process and know that we're doing the right things and making the right strides. It's not showing on the scoreboard, but it's showing that we're fighters.”