Tigers remain unbeaten, clinch TEC title

The Hagerstown football team clinched the outright league championship with a win over the Tri-High Titans in Lewisville on Friday, Oct. 9, in a Tri-Eastern Conference game.

The Titans were ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll, but have not had the season they had hoped for. A win over the Tigers could get them back on track.

The Titans are a run-first team that likes to control the ball and time of possession. On their first possession they executed their game plan to perfection. The Titans controlled the ball for over nine minutes, covering 75 yards in 17 plays capped off by a 1-yard plunge from Kole Knepley. James Burke kicked the PAT, giving the Titans a 7-0 lead with 2:32 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers responded quickly. Tiger quarterback Graham Vinson engineered a four-play scoring drive that included passes to Nick Tinkle of 15 yards and 21 yards and a 27-yard TD run from Mason Hunt. Calvin Delgas kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:06 remaining in the first quarter.

The Titans never scored again and the Tigers moved to take control of the game in the second quarter. At the 6:17 mark, Vinson connected with Tinkle on a 39-yard TD pass. With 25 seconds remaining before halftime, Vinson connected with Tinkle on a 17-yard TD pass. Delgas added the PAT kick both times to give the Tigers a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Tiger defense controlled the second half, holding the Titans scoreless while the Tigers extended their lead. Cooper Porter scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and Vinson scored on a 17-yard quarterback keeper in the fourth quarter. Delgas added PAT kicks each time to make the final score 35-7.

The Tigers celebrate winning the TEC after the game. Sherry Stuart photo

The win clinched the TEC title for the Tigers for the 22nd time in school history, but the first time since 2018.

The Titans only gained 3 yards through the air. Masyn Chalfant was their leading rusher, gaining 113 yards on 20 carries. They had 161 yards rushing as a team. Bryan Kinder led the Titan defense with nine tackles, and Knepley had seven tackles.

Vinson completed 14 of 17 pass attempts for 239 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Hunt rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Tinkle caught six passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Hunt had three catches for 59 yards. Delgas kicked five PATs.

Cale Schmitz led the Tiger defense with 18 tackles. Tinkle has 10 tackles. Gus Golliher, Kaden Hall and Heath Johnson each had seven tackles and Johnson recovered a fumble.

Hagerstown head coach Scott Snodgrass said his kids played well and accomplished their purpose. “We told them [the kids] to be patient. We knew that Tri would try to hang on to the ball as long as they could and shorten our time of possession,” Snodgrass said. “We were looking to move quickly to score when we had the ball and we did a good job of that. TEC champions sounds good. I am happy for our kids, they worked hard for it.”