Sweet Water ground game pounds Linden
A swarming Dawg “ D” pushes back Linden’s Graderius Brown.
Sweet Water relied almost exclusively on its traditionally powerful ground attack to wrest away a key Region 1 win over Linden Friday night. The Bulldogs scored 21 consecutive points over a stretch of 19:05 of game time to anchor a 42-20 victory.
With the game knotted at 14 late in the second quarter, Jonah Smith hit Chastian Washington for a 49-yard touchdown strike to give the Bulldogs the lead. Deshawn Blanks added the PAT to set the advantage at 21-14.
Bulldog Jacory Brown (40) leads Shamar Lewis (6) en route to a second half TD.
Shamar Lewis contributed an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to move it to 28-14. Luke Davis then picked off a Patriot pass in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown to move the lead to 35-14.
Kevin Green scored on a 7-yard run with 4:58 to play to narrow the deficit to 35-20 and keep Linden in the game. Lewis iced the game on a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:10 to go in the contest.
Jaylon Williamson opened the scoring with 4:05 remaining in the first quarter when he found the end zone on a 6-yard sprint to put Sweet Water up 7-0. Grady Brown later hit Green for an 8-yard touchdown strike to tie the game at 7-7. Williamson put Sweet Water up 14-7 on a 17-yard run with 4:53 to go in the second quarter. Brown later found Green again for a 52-yard touchdown pass to tie the game once more.
Patriot Graderius Brown (5) leaps over Bulldog defender Shamar Lewis deep in Sweet Water territory.
Linden had 367 yards of total offense but was ultimately felled, in part, by its lack of ball control. The Patriots threw two interceptions and fumbled four times though they only lost one such miscue. The Pats also incurred eight penalties for 60 yards.
Sweet Water amassed 295 yards rushing to buoy a 344-yard offensive night. Lewis totaled 128 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Williamson added 83 yards and two touchdowns on 13 runs.
Green hauled in four passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Isaiah Scott caught four passes for 96 yards. Scott also intercepted a pass for the Linden defense. Trent Sams had one INT for the Sweet Water defense.
Sweet Water (4-1, 4-0) travels to McIntosh next Friday night. Linden (3-3, 2-2) hosts A.L. Johnson.
Sweet Water WR Chastian Washington (22) hauls in a Jonah Smith pass for a 3rd Quarter TD.