The Red Level Tigers capped off their season by rallying past the Fruitdale Pirates in the fourth quarter for a 38-26 victory on senior night in Red Level.

“Has it been the season that we had hoped for? Well, no, but we have come along way over the course of the season and I’m so proud of the way the kids played tonight,” Red Level head coach James Wise said, “Down in the fourth quarter, Red Level from a couple of years ago might have quit, but these kids kept fighting tonight and found a way to win.”

The Tigers found themselves in a 26-22 hole with around seven minutes remaining in the game, Wise said.

Red Level’s offense was then able to drive the ball down the field and score the go-ahead touchdown.

“On the drive that went scored to take the lead, we had to convert two fourth downs to keep the drive going,” Wise said.

Led by sophomore Austin Huckabaa, the Tigers’ defense stepped up in a big way and forced a turnover from the Fruitdale offense.

“I was really just content with trying to run out the clock, but Coach (Tony) Ingram called a perfect play that Dylan Jordan was able to score on,” Wise said. “That was the icing on the cake.”

Jordan was able to score on naked bootleg from around 40 yards out to give the Tigers a 38-26 lead late in the contest.

“It was a pretty solid effort all the way around tonight,” Wise said. “I thought the defense played especially well and Austin Huckabaa really stood out on defense. He had his best game of the season. He was just flying around all over the place.”

Tigers’ senior running back John Lee lead the way on offense with three touchdowns and nearly 200 yards on the ground. Lee had one touchdown run that was 60 yards.

Wesley Holley also added at 30-yard touchdown run for the Tigers.

Hunter Carpenter, Jeffery Perdue, Dameyune Scott and Lee each had a two-point conversion.

Huckabaa led the way for the Tigers on defense with 12 tackles in the contest.

Ontario Nearer had an interception for the Tigers.

“You know, 4-6 is not where we want to finish,” Wise said. “But I’m glad that the seniors get to leave with a win in their final game. They continued to battle the entire game. They never lost focus when were down later in the game. The kept fighting and found a way to win and I couldn’t be more proud of them than I am right now. Before the season started, we set goals for ourselves to finish at .500 or better and make the playoffs. We came up just short of that goal after losing to Kinston, but these outgoing seniors have set a mark for the guys coming up. Next season, we have to improve and get to at least five wins.”