The Ethel Tigers punched their ticket to the second round in style Friday night, rolling to a dominant 56-7 victory over West Lincoln in the opening round of the state playoffs.
The victory marks a monumental milestone for the program, securing Ethel’s first playoff win since 1991. Following the historic performance, the team’s momentum also earned the Tigers Team of the Week honors from the State Championships Radio Network’s Varsity Voices Podcast.
Ethel wasted no time asserting control, exploding for a massive 30-point first quarter and taking a 43-7 lead into halftime. The Tigers never looked back, adding two more scores in the second half to trigger a running clock and cap off the 56-7 blowout.
“I thought our kids piggybacked a good week of practice to the game Friday night,” said Ethel head coach Junior Graham. “It was special getting that playoff monkey off our backs. We were able to reward our young players by getting them some valuable playoff experience.”
The Tigers’ offense put on a clinic, racking up 456 total yards, 417 of which came on a relentless ground attack. Zantavious Clark led the backfield charge with 145 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries, while D’ante Bailey added 78 yards on 3 carries.
Quarterback Taylon May completed 3-of-5 passes for 29 yards, and Bailey pulled in 2 receptions for 22 yards. On the other side of the ball, the Ethel defense completely stifled West Lincoln, holding the visitors to just 183 total yards. Jayden Ferguson and Curt Erving led the defensive effort with 3 tackles each, while Caden Merritt and Maddox Renfrow each came down with fumble recoveries.
With the historic opening-round win behind them, the Tigers turn their attention to Round 2. Ethel will return home this Friday, Nov. 13, to host Stringer with a spot in the next round on the line.
