The Straughn Tigers wrapped up spring training on Saturday as they battled Pisgah to a 13-13 tie at Jacksonville State University.

“I was really pleased with the way that we played,” new Straughn head coach John Higgins said. “We came in with two goals. No. 1, we wanted to play hard and we felt like we did that. No. 2, we wanted to be physical and once again we felt like we accomplished that goal.”

Higgins said that the Tigers didn’t have much time to implement the new offense, but he was still pleased with his team’s execution on the field.

“We only nine days to learn a new offense and we had to replace nine guys on offense,” Higgins said. “That’s a lot of stuff to replace and change in short amount of time, but the way they executed on Saturday is a positive outlook for this team.”

Higgins said that he saw some positive things from many of his players on Saturday.

“Scott Roney had a really good day playing quarterback,” Higgins said. “Cade Courson did a great job on defense. Really he was good on both sides of the ball. Collin Crane played well and caught a touchdown pass. Dawson Cunningham had three or four catches and Brandon Hudson had a really good day.”

There are still areas that the Tigers have to improve, Higgins said.

“We had a turnover that led to score and then a drive a with a lot of penalties led to their other score,” Higgins said. “That’s not playing winning football. Those are the mental errors that we have to cut down on. We still have work to do, but I’m extremely proud of the players and the coaches for what they have done this spring.”

Higgins said he also impressed with the Tiger fan base that made the trip.

“We only played three 10-minute quarters, but I bet we had more fans that drove four hours to watch us as the teams that only drove an hour,” Higgins said. “I love that about Straughn. You see two or three generations of families here and that speaks to what a great educational system that we have here. That’s something that I’ve been enamored with since I’ve been here, and I think it’s great. That fan support is huge for these kids, because they know they are going to be playing in front of mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and all their friends at every game”