After coming off of 3 straight wins the Tigard Tigers football team proved that they weren’t going to play easy against the Century Jaguars on Friday Sept. 20. They led the Jaguars by 42 points in the first half and left the Hillsboro stadium with an impressive 49-13 win.
“Everyday in practice this week we kept working hard and staying focused,” said senior Jett Even.
Junior Sam Inos appeared unstoppable during the first quarter. Inos immediately scored just seconds after the kickoff. With a strong defensive line, Inos was able to score both touchdowns in the first quarter and went into the next quarter with Tigard leading 14-0.
“It’s not about me,” said Inos when asked about his performance in the first quarter. “I think we did good today. The team was prepared and Coach [Craig] Ruecker did a good job.”
The Tigers continued to soar through the second quarter. Senior Darren Rodrigues ran the ball at 9:44 and senior Ariel “A.J.” Hotchkins continued Rodrigues’ progress by carrying the ball to the end zone. Rodrigues and senior Bruin Campbell both scored for the Tigers leaving the score at 35-0. Junior Landon Floyd finished off the first half and raised the score to 42-0 with :32 left on the clock.
“Our team was fast and determined,” said Even. “It was hard for [Century] to stop us.
In the second half, the Tigard coaches decided to sprinkle some of their second string players into the lineup. They were able to hold off the Jaguars until 6:18 where they scored their first touchdown of the night and again at 11:55. Tigard still held their lead at the end of the third quarter with a score of 42-13. Senior Justin Alvarizares left the Tigers with a strong finish, making the final touchdown with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter. The final score was 49-13.
“Century played hard, they battled against us in both offense and defense. They put up a good fight for us and played really well,” said Floyd. “I hope that we grow more as a team and get better every week. Don’t plateau and keep growing.”