CITRONELLE, Ala. — Despite a valiant come from behind effort, the Toros of Spanish Fort fell to Citronelle Wildcats 26-13.

Head Toro coach, Bryant Vincent said his team continues to show improvement each week. He also said his team is better than their record shows.

“Our record is 3-6 but we are a lot better team than that. The effort the team gave tonight was a good one and it shows a lot of character. We are building a winning program here and this is just one step toward getting there,” Vincent said.

During the first half of action, the Toro defense shut the Wildcats down, giving up only 63 total yards offense. Defensively the Wildcats stood just as strong. With the exception of one drive the Toros were held to short yardage drives. Due to the defensive battle of the two teams the Toros and the Wildcats went into the locker room tied 0-0.

The second half was a near reversal for the two teams. For the Toros, the defense began breaking down while the offense began clicking. Vincent said there was one major difference in the actions of the Toros in the second half.

“Offensively, we didn’t execute in the first half and our defense was playing lights out. In the second half, we reversed, we were playing lights out offense, executing like we should. But on defense we let them run over us.” Vincent said. “We are a young team that is still in a building phase. We will get better with every snap. I am proud of our players and I know that we will get better.”

Citronelle took the second half kickoff and drove it 71 yards for a touchdown, scoring on a 21-yard-run by Junior running back Ontario Little. A successful PAT put the Wildcats up 7-0 with 8:08 remaining in the third.

With 2:55 remaining in the third the Wildcats advanced their lead with another TD. Junior running back Bakari Beard took the ball in from the four and followed the run with a PAT, making the Citronelle lead 14-0.

Down but not out, the Toros fought their way back. Junior quarterback Logan Rogers directed the Toro offense on a 64 yard drive. Rogers opened the drive with three passes to Tyler Yates, for 23, 12 and eight yards. On first and goal from the Wildcat seven, Brent Duke took the ball to the four, where Rogers carried it the rest of the way. Rogers scored on a one yard plunge up the middle, with :39 remaining in the third.

Citronelle answered the Toro score with a 61 yard drive, scoring on a 10 yard pass, with 10:07 left in the fourth. They missed the two point conversion attempt, leaving the Wildcat lead at 20-7.

On Spanish Fort’s next drive they took advantage of a Wildcat penalty to keep their drive alive, deep inside Citronelle territory.

Rogers and his offense began their scoring drive at their own 49. Rogers hit Jordan Chancey with an eight-yard-pass to open the drive. After Duke ran the ball forward for a few yards, the Toros were at the Wildcat 20. On third and three the Cats jumped off sides, giving the Toros the ball first and 10 at the Citronelle 15. On first down, Rogers threw to Keith Evans in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. After the PAT attempt failed, the score remained 20-13.

Citronelle put one last TD on the board with 3:22 remaining in the game. Beard scored on a 33-yard run around left end, with 3:22 remaining in the game, Citronelle held a 26-13 lead. Unable to recover, the score held, handing the Toros another loss on the year.

The leading rusher for the Toros was Duke, with 27 yards on 13 carries. Rogers ran the ball 17 times for 26 yards, for a total of 53 yards on the ground. Rogers completed 14 passes on 29 with one interception for 125 yards.

Citronelle ran for a total of 251 yards and threw for 43.

The Toros will take on the Tigers of Monroe County next week in the final game of the year.