EVERGREEN- Straughn’s Tigers took an early lead here Friday night, but twice had to overcome one-point deficits to defeat the Hillcrest Jaguars, 22-15.

“I was disappointed the way we played the first three and half quarters, but with that said it takes a special bunch of guys to fight ‘til the end like that,” said Straughn head coach Trent Taylor.

The Tigers’s first possession was a 52-yard scoring drive led by senior quarterback Josh Dewrell, who scored a a five-yard touchdown scamper on fourth and short, giving the Tigers the early 7-0 advantage.

The Jaguars’ next possession was only one play long as quarterback Justin Nard’s pass was picked off by Tiger linebacker Nick Allen.

The Tigers were not able to get anything going following the interception as the Jaguars forced the Tigers to turn the ball over on downs.

After another exchange of possession, Dewrell threw an interception that was followed by the Tiger defense standing tall to force another punt for the Jaguar offense.

The punt didn’t make it down field as Colton Lewis scorched through the line and blocked the punt and another Tiger pounced on it, giving the Tigers great field position.

The Tigers’ drive was stopped short of points though when Lewis fumbled, turning the ball over the Jaguars with the first half winding down.

The Jaguars made the most of the turnover by driving down the field and putting their first points on the board.

Justin Nard gave the Jaguars the lead as he found a receiver in the endzone on the two-point conversion giving the Jaguars a 8-7 lead with three minutes to go in the first half.

Dewrell was able to give the Tigers the lead again late in the game as he found Austin Pickrel up the field for an 85-yard touchdown pass that give the Tigers a 14-8 lead to start the final quarter.

The Jaguars weren’t going away without a fight as Nard was able to find a man open in the end zone. The point-after was good, and the Jaguars took a 15-12 lead with 10 minutes to play.

With the game winding down the Tigers took control of the ball on their own 17-yard line with 6:21 remaining to play.

Capitalizing on a few big runs from Dewrell and a few penalties from the Jaguars, the Tigers faced third and goal from the one-yard line when Dewrell powered his way up the middle to give the Tigers a 22-15 victory.

The win moves the Straughn Tigers to 4-0 (3-0 in the area).

Straughn will host the Opp Bobcats next week. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.