Deshler football season ends at hands of Anniston
The Deshler Tigers football team fell just short of a playoff berth in 2024 by falling to the West Morgan Rebels 35-35 in double overtime.
The Tigers, 6-4 overall, missed the postseason for just the third time since 1984.
Head coach Patrick Malone said during the summer media days that missing the postseason and a 6-4 record fell short of the expectations a program like Deshler has.
Fast forward to this season, and the Tigers took an undefeated streak into the final regular-season game of the year, a 13-7 loss to familiar foe West Morgan, also previously undefeated.
Despite the loss, Deshler returned to the postseason with a 9-1 record.
A convincing win over North Jackson and a hard-fought battle against undefeated Hamilton propelled the Tigers to the third round of the AHSAA playoffs for the first time since 2022, Malone’s first year at the helm.
The Tigers made it farther even than West Morgan, who fell to Good Hope in the second round.
Deshler faced an even tougher opponent in undefeated Anniston, and this time the Bulldogs proved too much, besting the Tigers 31-7.
Though the season was full of trials and tribulations, an 11-2 record and third-round playoff run are closer to what the supporters of Deshler football have in mind when they mention the history and gravitas of the program.
The lone score of the game for the Tigers came late in the third quarter when Garrett Reid connected with Brady McKinney on a 4-yard touchdown pass, followed up by a point after from Tripp Brooks.
Though the 2024 season was below Tuscumbia’s high expectations, Malone has amassed four-straight winning seasons and a 37-11 overall record across his four years at the helm.
That includes a 5-3 postseason record and an undefeated regular season and region title in 2022.
Deshler, like most seasons, loses a talented crop of seniors to graduation.
However, the Tigers now have the offseason to rebuild and grow the next group of players looking to make their mark on the Deshler program.
