Bodie Pickens

Greenville committed the same mistakes that had haunted them all season to fall to Carroll-Ozark 28-6 before a homecoming crowd at Tiger Stadium on Friday.

Greenville head coach Mike Williams had his thoughts on the game.

&#8221A handful of plays was the deciding factor tonight,“ Williams said. &#8221Poor tackling and penalties in crucial situations got us again. We've had this problem throughout this season.“

Ozark took advantage of these various Tiger penalties and scored in the process.

&#8221We were in position to make all the plays tonight but we could not overcome certain penalties and miscues,“ Williams said.

In addition, the Tiger offense turned the ball over in crucial moments during the game.

&#8221We've got to eliminate these turnovers,“ Williams said. &#8221The game plan was there tonight but we could have executed better.“

However, the Tigers started the game with perfect execution as GHS marched down the field on a 12-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that used nearly half of the opening quarter.

&#8221That was a good drive to start the game,“ Williams said. &#8221We took the momentum and had everything going our way.“

Being up 6-0 with the loud home crowd showing its approval, the Tigers were poised to garner its first win of the season.

However, these familiar mistakes came out of nowhere and hurt the Tigers.

Greenville dropped to 0-7 on the season while the Eagles left town with a 5-2 record.

&#8221We will learn from this and continue to work hard to improve,“ Williams said.

On the opening drive, the Tigers were running behind juniors Robert Phifer Jr. and Brandon Cheatham.

Tiger quarterback Lynn Lewis contributed with a crucial 3rd down conversion as the junior connected with Cheatham on a 25-yard pass.

Lewis would score on a QB sneak with 6:34 left in the first quarter.

Phifer finished with a team high 62 yards on 16 carries while Cheatham had 18 yards rushing and one reception.

The Tiger defense haulted the Eagles at the GHS 27-yard line after their time consuming opening drive. However, in what was their first mistake on the night, the Tigers were called for roughing the kicker on a failed field goal attempt.

As a result, the Eagles scored one play later as tailback Demorris Kilow ran in from 15 yards out.

The extra point put the Eagles ahead 7-6 with 1:54 left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers responded with a drive that started at the Ozark 45-yard line.

Senior Rashad Knight gave the Tigers great field position beforehand with a 40-yard kickoff return.

Greenville eventually drove inside the Eagles' 10-yard line.

Looking for another go-ahead score, the Tigers pounded the ball via the running game.

However, in what was another miscue, the Tigers were penalized for illegal assistance after a run to the one-yard line.

&#8221We just shot ourselves in the foot with these penalties,“ Willaims said.

As a result, the Tigers were backed up and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Thereafter, both defenses tightened up. Kelcius Pate led the Tiger defense with 13 total tackles. Senior Jerimiah Mosely chipped in with 6 tackles.

However, with around :18 seconds left in the second quarter, the Tigers gave up a huge game-breaking play that gave the Eagles a huge boost of momentum heading into halftime.

On a third down at their 42-yard line, Carroll's QB Larry Donnell was on a verge of being sacked but miraculously flipped the ball to Kilow.

Kilow then shook off tackle after tackle en route to a 58-yard touchdown with :08 seconds left.

&#8221Big plays have been hurting us all year,“ Williams said.

In the third quarter, the Tiger defense stopped the Eagles from scoring as junior William Thomas stripped the ball from Kilow at the Tigers' eight-yard line.

However, on the next play, Greenville committed their last mistake on the night and turned it over again.

Ozark then scored a touchdown with :47 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ozark tacked on another TD in the fourth via a 35-yard punt return to make the score 28-6.

&#8221We have a great group of players and I know that we'll get better,“ Williams said.

Greenville plays host to Booker T. Washington next Friday night.