The McKenzie Tigers came from behind in the second half to defeat Houston Academy, 21-17.

Houston scored twice in the first half with the Tigers not able to answer. Steven Surgnier scored with 3:30 left in the first quarter. The extra point was good to give Houston seven.

The second score came with 3:46 left in the half as Surgnier ran the ball in for another touchdown. The PAT was good and the McKenzie Tigers were down by 14 at the half.

The Tiger's put their first points on the board in the third quarter when Patrick Hamilton recovered a Houston fumble and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good and Houston's lead was cut in half.

Houston answered back by marching down the field against the Tiger defense, but the defense held on the 15 yard-line and kept Houston down to a field goal as the fourth quarter opened.

The second score of the night for McKenzie came from a five-yard pass from Eric Gomillion to Russell Davison with 8:05 left in the game leaving the score 14-17, Houston.

McKenzie, still behind, rallied in the final three minutes of the game to drive down the field and score again on a three yard run by Lawrence Ball. The extra point was good leaving the score 21-17.

After the game Coach Smothers said, "I'm proud of you guys. You stepped up and showed a lot of character. We're going to go to work on Monday and annihilate Frisco City next week."

Smothers said he was particularly proud of his seniors for their leadership and that the coaches had done a great job preparing the team for this game.

"At half time they said we'd come back, and I believed them. They came threw and I'm real proud of them," he said.

McKenzie's offense racked up 376 yards rushing and 68 yards in the air. Quarterback Eric Gomillion completed four of eight, ran for 162 yards and had one touchdown for the night. Patrick Hamilton ran for 110 yards in seven carries and made 17 tackles and one fumble recovery. Lawrence Ball tacked on 14 tackles and Dusty Odom had 12.

Next Friday, the Tigers will play at Frisco City.