Jenkins runs wild on Wildcats as Sweet Water trounces St. Luke’s
By Jeremy Sellers
Special to the Watchman
Eric Jenkins (21) provided much of the offensive punch for the Bulldogs
against the St. Luke Wildcats in Mobile Friday night.
MOBILE — Coach Pat Thompson earned his first win as head coach of the Sweet Water Bulldogs on Friday night as he took his squad to Mobile and knocked off the St. Luke’s Wildcats 40-14.
Sweet Water was led by Eric Jenkins, who found the end zone four times on Friday night. Jenkins carried the ball 16 times for 147 yards. He also had 90 yards receiving on the night.
“This was a big win for us,” Thompson noted after the region win. “Anytime you can start with a win in region play, it’s big.”
St. Luke’s forced the Bulldogs to punt on their first possession but it was all Sweet Water from there on out. On their second possession, Branson Davis connected with Jenkins for 90 yards and a touchdown. Jonah Smith added the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage with 5:57 left in the first quarter.
After a St. Luke’s three-and-out, Keldric Greene took the Wildcat punt down to the one yard line where Jenkins once again punched the pigskin into the end zone for another touchdown. Smith sent his second extra point through the uprights to give Sweet Water a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The second quarter got off to a good start for Thompson’s squad as Davis hooked up with Markell Evans for a 37-yard touchdown connection. A missed extra point left the Bulldogs with a 20-0 lead.
St. Luke’s cut into Sweet Water’s lead on its next possession as Jordan Lipscomb busted a 58-yard run to put the Wildcats on the board. An extra point left the Bulldogs lead at 20-7.
That was short lived as Jenkins struck for his third touchdown of the night on the ensuing kickoff as he found the end zone on an 81-yard return. This would give the Bulldogs a 26-7 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, Sweet Water would add two more scores, one of which came at the hands of Jenkins on a 63-yard run in the third quarter. The final score of the night came when Flynn Mabowitz fell on a fumble in the end zone, which resulted in a touchdown for the Bulldogs.
St. Luke’s added a final score with 23 seconds left in the game as Lipscomb found the end zone again, this time from 10 yards out.
“Jenkins obviously had a big night for us,” Thompson said. “It was a lot of big plays from a big time playmaker. This entire team had a good night and everybody played hard. I am proud of these guys.”
Sweet Water(1-1) will play host to Mobile Christian next Friday night in another 2A Region, 1 contest while St. Luke’s (1-1) will travel to Washington County.