Tatum jumps on Daingerfield in 3A Texas high school football clash: 4 takeaways

Eagles lead from start to finish in decisive win to move record to 2-0 in Week 2 of 2024 UIL season

Tatum seniors Luke Sigler (1) and JaCorie Bradley (3) helped the Eagles to a 34-14 win against Daingerfield on Sept. 5, 2024. / Buck Ringgold

DAINGERFIELD, TEXAS - A Texas high school state semifinal team a season ago, Daingerfield was coming off a shocking loss in its UIL season opener last week.

However, things didn’t get any better for the Tigers in their 2024 home debut on Thursday, as Tatum - which won its season opener last week - led from the outset, taking a 14-0 first-quarter lead and building a 34-0 advantage in the third en route to a 34-14 win.

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Here, now, are four takeaways from Tatum’s win:

Tatum got a couple of big plays in the first quarter to get the Eagles jump-started. 

The Eagles’ first TD came on their opening drive, as Dameon Pippins took a running play 27 yards into the end zone.

Later in the opening quarter, Tatum senior quarterback JaCorie Bradley scrambled to find an open receiver. He was able to spot senior Luke Sigler in the end zone, and Sigler went full elevation to come down with the catch for another TD, and Bradley took in a keeper for the two-point conversion, making it 14-0.

“When I said, ‘Go,’ I had seen him and I trusted Luke and I threw the ball up there and gave him a shot, and I guess he finished the job,” Bradley said.

Sigler was being heavily guarded by a Daingerfield player when he saw Bradley’s pass. But Sigler was able to perfectly time his jump and haul it in.

“I just saw it in the air,” he said. “I knew there was a guy on my hip, but I just jumped up, put my hands up and made sure that I came down with it secure.”

Momentum Shift

Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Daingerfield reached the red zone in an attempt to make it a one-score game. But Tatum dialed a perfect blitz, as linebacker Qwardai Peoples swarmed on Tiger QB Chase Johnson, knocking the ball loose, with the Eagles’ Carlos Hernandez making the recovery at his own 15.

Tatum then, for all intents and purposes, put the game away with an 85-yard drive that covered approximately 15 plays. Running back Jamarri Gipson capped it with a 1-yard plunge with 30 seconds left until halftime, extending the Eagle lead to 20-0.

“The offensive line, they were blocking,” Bradley said. “The linemen get the blocks where we’re shooting the holes when we get down the field, one by one.

“We rely on the o-line; whatever they do is what happens during the game.”

Gipson added two more TDs in the second half to finish with a hat trick.

Not Quite In Sync

Daingerfield reached the 3A Division II semifinals last year and had high hopes entering 2024. The Tigers also welcomed in a new offensive coordinator, Caleb Harley, who had previously been the offensive coordinator at West Texas school Sunray and was instrumental in current senior quarterback Armando Lujan becoming one of the state’s all-time prolific passers.

But it has taken the Tigers a while to mesh so far this season. They were held to 13 points in an upset loss to Gladewater last week and had only one offensive TD on Thursday.

Daingerfield also brought back Johnson, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards last season. However, Tatum forced four turnovers in its win, converting three of those into touchdowns, including one off an interception from Sigler in the third quarter.

The Tigers’ cause also wasn’t helped by the absence of senior standout receiver Kenny Mosley, who did not play Thursday.

“We knew that they liked to throw the ball, so we made sure we had nothing deep; we kept everything in front of us,” Sigler said. “We had to make them run the ball and once we stopped the run, they (struggled offensively).”

Carryover Effect

A year ago at this time, Tatum dropped to 0-2 following a 34-17 home loss to Daingerfield, and the Eagles also started 1-3. But they got hot down the stretch, reeling off four straight wins and also winning their bi-district playoff against Commerce.

That late surge has definitely carried over into the start of this season, with Tatum posting back-to-back solid wins against Winnsboro (29-14) and again Thursday.

“We were just working really hard during the summer, coming to workouts and two-a-days every day and putting in the hard work,” Bradley said. “We’ve earned these wins.”

And Sigler was quick to point out the best still may be yet to come.

“(We’re wanting to) just make our playbook bigger,” he said. “We still haven’t opened up everything yet; we’re just starting off only running a few plays, so it’s just opening up the playbook and getting better.”

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-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX