Lucky 13

Published 6:00 am Saturday, September 11, 2010

Southeast Lauderdale defender close in on West Lauderdale's Robert Sillimon.

    Another week, another streak ended by the Southeast Lauderdale Tigers.

    After winning their opener for the first time in a decade and snapping a 10-game skid against Northeast Lauderdale, the Tigers tamed West Lauderdale 13-3 at Tiger Stadium on Friday, winning for the first time in 13 years.

    Needless to say, it was a big deal for Southeast. As the postgame fireworks game proved.

    “Twelve years of frustration are over,” said Southeast coach Boo Smith, who got a shower from the water bucket as the final seconds ticked off. “We had the fireworks ready because we expected to win.

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    “I feel good. I’ll take the water every time.”

    While it wasn’t always pretty — Southeast was flagged for 16 penalties and 100 yards and turned the ball over six times, while West was penalized 10 times for 65 yards  — it certainly was sweet for the Tigers, who improved to 3-1 with the lone setback a 7-6 decision against Newton County.

    “It was ugly,” Smith added. “It was an ugly game.

    “I don’t care how we got it, just that we got it.”

    Leading the charge was a defense that stiffened as the game wore on. After West was able to mount 41 yards in the first quarter, the Knights were limited to just 64 the rest of the way — 38 coming in the second half and 28 of that coming on two Robert Sillimon runs on the final drive when the game was decided.

    “They played well,” West coach Glen Sanders said. “They did a good job, did what they had to do to win.”

    Added Smith: “I can’t say enough about the defense. In the first half, they bent and bent a lot. But the second half, they shifted into another gear and just dominated. We owe the victory to the defense.”

    The stingy Tiger defense had some help early as the Knights short-circuited some drives with penalties, including a hold on the first drive and another hold on their third, after they gained possession at the Southeast 32 following a Dylan Miles interception and 37-yard return.

    After turning it over on downs on that first drive, West capitalized on its second drive when Tyler Germany connected on a 32-yard field goal. The sophomore’s kick on a 47-yard attempt on the ensuing possession fell just short.

    “We obviously had some mistakes early in the game that cost us,” Sanders said. “We made some mistakes, but hat’s off to them, they made the plays they had to make to win.”

    Southeast, meanwhile, started off strong offensively. Taking the opening kick, the Tigers marched 80 yards in 12 plays, scoring on a 6-yard run from Ledarious Clark.

    “We looked like a machine,” Smith said.

    After that, though, Southeast started to sputter. The Tigers turned it over on their next two drives and were unable to overcome penalties multiple times.

    However, Clark would add some insurance midway through the fourth when he took a toss sweep 45 yards to the end zone on a fourth-and-inches, making one cut to avoid a handful of Knights in the backfield. The junior had 113 yards on 17 carries as Southeast had 270 yards of offense.

    “That’s the only good call I made all night,” Smith joked.

    “He’s a good one.”

    Still, the game belonged to Southeast’s defense. Clinging to the 7-3 lead midway through the third, the Tigers snuffed out a West drive when Sillimon, who had 73 yards on 15 carries, was stuffed on fourth-and-inches at the SEL 31. On the Knights’ next drive, which began after a botched center-quarterback exchange at the SEL 43, the Tigers again forced a turnover on downs. This time, the defense swarming to Shydai Lewis on a sweep on fourth-and-2.

    “Tenacious, tenacious, tenacious,” Smith said about his defense. “That fourth quarter, they just dominated. That poor quarterback (Daniel Lott) didn’t have a chance.”