MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The Eufaula Tigers used a strong ground game and held off Carver-Montgomery 20-7 at the Cramton Bowl Thursday night. Carver was inside the red zone twice on their first two drives of the night but could not score a point as the Tigers defense held them out of the end zone. 

With the win, Eufaula takes a half-game lead  over Dothan and Sidney Lanier in Class 6A, Region 2. The Tigers go to 4-1 in the region while Dothan and Sidney Lanier stand at 3-1 in the region. Dothan plays Sidney Lanier in week #9 and if Dothan wins they will win the region due to beating Eufaula earlier in the season.

One of the defensive heroes was defensive back Zadan Thomas who picked off two Wolverines passes. "We are good on defense," said the Tigers DB Thomas. "This means a lot to get this win on the road. People need to stop doubting Eufaula. This was a good team win for us."

Eufaula (7-2, 4-1) scored first when Ty Tennille scored on a 3-yard touchdown run and the Tigers led 7-0 with 6:58 left in the first quarter. Carver drove down to the Tigers 10-yard line but was stopped on downs after their first drive of the game. Eric Stewart had a big 20-yard run on the drive but the Wolverines were stopped short of the goal line. 

With 8:52 left in the second quarter, Hess Horne hit Rodarius Thomas on an 8-yard touchdown pass play on a slant play and the Tigers took a 14-0. With the way the Tigers defense was playing, that looked big early in the second quarter. "We had a lot of heart and a lot of guts, we are the school with half of the other peoples size," said Tigers head coach Ed Rigby. "I'm proud of our kids. Everyone said going up to 6A, we would not be able to do anything. We made a statement. That is six in a row as we went up against a big school. I'm excited, happy and proud of our team."

With :42 seconds left in the second quarter, David Wingate kicked a 37-yard field goal. QB holder Hess made a great recovery after the snap to get the football down for Wingate to kick the field goal. With the score, the Tigers led 17-0 late in the second quarter.

Carver-Montgomery (4-4, 1-3) came back on a strong drive right before the half as Kole Williams threw to Jovan Wilson on a 6-yard touchdown pass play in the back end of the end zone and with only :04 seconds left in the half, the Wolverines cut the Eufaula lead to 17-7. An 18-yard pass to Wilson and a 13-yard pass to Nadarious Harris setup the Wolverines touchdown.

In the second half, the only score of the game came on a 30-yard field goal by Wingate. With the score, Eufaula led 20-7 with 6:41 left in the third quarter. A short punt by the Wolverines and a 15-yard run by Tennille setup the Tigers field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Eufaula went on a 11 minute drive to pretty much run out the fourth quarter as Carver only had the ball one time in the fourth quarter starting at their own 20-yard line with only one minute left in the game.

Up next, Eufaula is off next week while Carver-Montgomery will host Park Crossing on Thursday night at the Cramton Bowl.