The Fayette County Tigers have struggled in the beginning of the 2008 season, but with an 8-6 win over their rivals, the McIntosh Chiefs, the Tigers are now 1-0 in the sub-region.

McIntosh, which hasn’t defeated Fayette County since 2003, had a 6-2 lead until Tiger quarterback Jensen Floyd connected with sophomore Eric Lauderdale with a 17 yard touchdown pass with just under two minutes to go.

The Chiefs broke a scoreless tie early in the fourth quarter when Darius Miliam had a two yard touchdown run capping off a 62 yard drive that started towards the end of the third quarter. The Chiefs conceded two points with a safety on a punt when they were backed up deep in their own end of the field.

Fayette County head coach Tommy Webb praised the efforts of his team and welcomed back Tay Pettaway who had been unable to play in the Tiger’s previous games. Floyd connected with Pettaway on four key plays in the second half for first downs. He also had a lot of praise for Malcolm Reed, who made a number of key stops, sacks and tackles for a loss.

“He’s just a warrior, playing on both sides of the ball and serving as a team captain,” said Webb. “To play all four quarters in a game like this and he really turned it up at the end, it just says a lot about his desire.”

McIntosh’s offense was led by quarterback Cam Porter, who was 13 of 19 passing for 140 yards. His leading receiver was John Koob, who had three catches for 40 yards. The Chief defense, which head coach Glenn Griffin stated played hard and smart for much of the game, was led by Bradley Larsen, who had five pass breakups and nine tackles. Gavin Carlson also had nine total tackles for the Chiefs.