Malakoff Races Out to Big Lead En Route to 39-14 Win Over Daingerfield

MALAKOFF -- The Malakoff Tigers have a good thing going on.

Using a fast start that resulted in a 25-0 halftime lead, the Tigers raced away with a 39-14 non-district win against the tradition-rich Daingerfield Tigers in front of a large Tiger Stadium crowd Friday night.

The win improved Malakoff to 2-0 on the season going into next week's 76th renewal of their Trinity River rivalry with the Kerens Bobcats in Kerens. Daingerfield, which will travel to Atlanta next week, dropped to 0-2.

Malakoff jumped on Daingerfield for a 6-0 lead on a 1-yard Marcus Dowell scoring plunge. Stephan Wolf passed 41 yards to Tyler Russell to set up the score.

Russell had a huge game for the Tigers on both sides of the ball. He caught one touchdown pass and intercepted a pair of passes.

Dowell played a big role in Malakoff pulling away in the second half. He scored on a 7-yard run and tossed a 31-yard scoring strike to Russell.

Russell's first interception set up the next Malakoff touchdown, giving the Tigers the ball at the Daingerfield 45-yard line. Russell covered the final six yards of the scoring drive on a pass from Wolfe.

With 1:30 left in the half, Daingerfield threatened after Gentry Alexander stepped in front of a Wolfe Pass and took it back 49 yards for a touchdown. But Alexander was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the touchdown was erased. On the next play, Kendrick Hornbuckle picked off a pass in the end zone.

After taking a 6-0 lead into the second quarter on the strength of the first of two Marcus Dowell touchdowns, Malakoff pulled away in the second quarter. The Tigers scored three times to put up a 25-0 halftime lead.

Dowell scored on an seven-yard run to trigger the big quarter. After Q.T. Barker recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Dowell took a Stephan Wolfe pitchout and pulled up an tossed a 31-yard scoring strike to Tyler Russell.

Daingerfield got on the scoreboard with 2:52 left in the third quarter after a 61-yard Denzel Mims punt return to the Malakoff 32-yard line. Markevion Grant scored on a nine-yard run.

Malakoff answered with a 30-yard Jared Givens touchdown run.

After Malik Higgins hit Mims with a 6-yard touchdown pass for Daingerfield, Malakoff capped the scoring with an 11-yard A.J. Cook scoring run.