Senior Mark Thomas

The Dayville/Monument Tigers dominated on defense Friday in their first game of a shortened spring season, as they defeated the Mitchell/Wheeler/Spray Rattlers 33-0.

Kyle Hand, the Tigers’ head coach, said while his team played stellar defense, the offense was “embarrassing.”

“We’ll be working on it in practice on Monday,” he said.

Hand said the team missed blocks and could not execute plays. He said the outcome would have been much different had the Tigers’ defense not stepped up.

The Tigers’ defense held the Rattlers to roughly 60 yards.

“When you hold any team in any football game to 60 yards, there’s a good chance you’re going to end up winning,” he said.

Hand said the five returning seniors this season also helped. The Rattlers, with one returning senior and a roster of mostly freshmen, faced a more experienced team.

Hand said the offensive woes were understandable, given that the team had just three weeks to practice before Friday’s game.

“We haven’t talked football since March, when all of this (COVID-19) started happening,” he said. “We’re just getting football back on the mind again.”

It was mostly seniors who scored the Tigers’ touchdowns. Senior JT Hand put the Tigers on the board while Donavan Schafer, a senior, scored a 2-point conversion.

Senior Mark Thomas caught a Hail Mary pass that put the Tigers on the Rattlers’ 20-yard line, then a couple of downs later ran the ball to the end zone on a handoff.

Thomas got into the act on the defensive end when he ran back a Rattler fumble for a 20-yard touchdown.

JT Hand said the team will need to “focus” and “execute” much better than they did Friday as they prepare for their game against Joseph next week.

He said, for him and the other seniors, just getting the opportunity to play together meant a lot.

“We’re so thankful to be able to have a season,” he said. “A lot of us, to be honest, were not counting on it. So to be able to be out here today means everything.”

Next up, Joseph will host the Tigers at 4 p.m. Friday, March 12, at the Joseph Charter School.