Linden-Kildare beats Cumby, 48-38

Linden-Kildare hosted the Cumby Trojans last Friday night in another district contest.

The game was a back-and-forth affair until the Tigers broke through and held on for a 48-38 win over the Trojans.

First Quarter

Cumby received the ball to begin the game.

Tough tackles by Max Belford and Taeshun Mitchell kept the Trojans off balance but two penalties levied against the Tigers helped keep the drive alive for Cumby.

The Trojans scored at the 9:06 mark on a 10-play drive, but missed the 2-point play.

Down 6-0 the Tigers went to work. L-K quarterback Jakyric Nard hit Evan Mitchell on a big pass play followed by nice plays from Mitchell, Nard and Charlie Kirkland.

Eli Mitchell ended the drive with a touchdown. The 2-point play was no good but the Tigers tied the score at 6-6 with 5:40 left in the first frame.

Cumby answered a little over two minutes later but the 2-point play was busted up by the Tigers.

With 3:20 left on the clock, Cumby was ahead 126.

The Trojans caught a break on the kickoff as they recovered an onside kick, but a solid stand by the Tiger defense forced Cumby to turn the ball over on downs.

The quarter ended with Jacorey Birmingham picking up 11 yards on the ground in two plays.

Second Quarter

Nard opened the second stanza with a nice run, but a penalty against L-K erased the positive yardage.

Facing third-down-and-20 a few plays later, Nard connected with Birmingham on a 30-yard pass play which set up the Tigers at Cumby’s 20-yard line.

On the very next snap Nard hit Trevon Grant for a 20-yard TD. Nard ran in the 2-point run and L-K was on top 14-12 with 10:05 left in the first half.

A huge kickoff return set Cumby up at the L-K 5-yard line, and from there the Trojans scored with 9:47 left on the clock.

The 2-point play was no good but Cumby was back in the lead 18-14.

L-K answered with a nice drive after Cumby failed to recover another onside kick. Starting at the 49, Nard hit Evan Mitchell for six yards and then connected with Kirkland for five.

Mitchell ripped off a nice run for nine yards and then took the ball 31 yards to paydirt on the fourth play of the drive.

The 2-point play was no good but L-K was back on top 20-18 with 8:16 showing on the clock.

After a nice solid stand by the Tiger defense, L-K got the ball back and looked to score again.

On the drive Nard hit Lane on a nice pass play but eventually the Tigers faced fourth-and-long. Going for it, Nard scrambled after being flushed out of the pocket and dropped the ball. The ball hit the turf and bounced back into Nard’s hands and he rumbled down to the 24 and gave L-K a first down in the process.

Two plays later Nard hit Grant on a 22-yard TD strike with 4:10 left in the second quarter.

Birmingham ran in the 2-point try and L-K was up 28-18.

Another big stand by the Tiger defense gave the Tiger offense one last shot at scoring before halftime.

Runs by Birmingham and Nard moved the ball across midfield before Nard connected with Grant on a 39-yard pass play down to the Cumby 3-yard line.

From there Nard ran the ball across the goal line as time expired. The 2-point play was no good but L-K increased its lead to 34-18 at the break.

Third Quarter

The Tigers received the ball to begin the second half but eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Cumby was stuffed by the Tiger defense on its next drive and on fourth-and-long Nard intercepted a pass.

After a short 4-yard run by Birmingham on first down, Nard broke for a huge 71-yard TD with 6:19 left in the third quarter.

Birmingham ran in the 2-point play and L-K increased its lead to 42-18.

Cumby answered on its next drive despite solid defense by Colton Justice and T. Mitchell.

The 2-point play was good and the L-K lead was cut to 42-26 with 4:22 left in the quarter.

L-K pulled a little trick play out of the hat on its next drive as Nard pitched the ball to Evan Mitchell who passed the ball to Birmingham for a 61-yard score. The 2-point play was no good but L-K was up 48-26 with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

Guzman, Nard and Bug Patterson put some defensive pressure on Cumby’s offense, but the Trojans were close to the goal line as the quarter ended.

Fourth Quarter

Cumby scored two plays into the final frame. The 2-point play was no good but Cumby cut into the Tigers’ lead 48-32 with 11:23 left in the game.

L-K turned the ball over on downs on its next drive but did eat up more than three minutes off the clock in the process.

Cumby scored again after a long 13-play drive but an unsuccessful 2-point try ensured a 10-point Tiger lead as L-K was up 48-38 with 4:25 left in the game.

The Tigers found themselves in a fourth down situation on its next drive but a nice 8-yard pass from Nard to freshman Evan Mitchell kept L-K in business.

Nard followed that up with a nice run but the Tigers turned the ball over on downs with 17 seconds left in the game.

Evan Mitchell intercepted a pass on Cumby’s final drive and the Tigers picked up a big district win.

The Tigers travel to Detroit next week for a big meeting with the Eagles. Kickoff for that game is 7:30 p.m.