Bulldogs fall to 4A Etowah, 33-20
The Sweet Water Bulldogs traveled to Attalla Friday night to fill the vacancy left by the Choctaw County forfeit. The sixth-ranked Class 4A Blue Devils put 14 points on the board in the first quarter that the Dawgs were unable to overcome, despite outscoring their opponent 20-19 in the remaining three quarters.
Following a Bulldog punt on their opening possession, Etowah’s Trent Davis scored on a 77-yard run on the Blue Devils first play. Chris Harden’s 2-point conversion run put the Blue Devils on top, 8-0 with 9:31 to go in the first quarter.
Later in the first, after a Bulldog punt and subsequent holding penalty, Davis scored his second touchdown of the night, on as many carries. The 83-yard run came at the 1:55 mark of the first quarter. The Bulldogs blocked the PAT, but the Blue Devils held a 14-0 lead.
The Bulldogs finally got on the board with 1:10 to go in the first half, when Walker Thompson got into the end zone on a 3-yard run. Thompson added the PAT and the Dawgs closed the Etowah lead to 14-7.
Not to be outdone, Etowah’s Davis scored his third touchdown on his fourth carry with 36 seconds to go in the half. The 52-yard run and unsuccessful 2-point try gave the Blue Devils a 20-7 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Etowah failed to convert on a 4th-and-2 at their own 33-yard line. After gaining six yards on first down, Jaland Lewis Horton got into the end zone on a 27-yard run with 8:50 to go in the quarter. Thompson’s PAT brought the Dawgs within a touchdown at 20-14.
With 3:48 to go in the third, Etowah’s Trace Thompsan connected with Martavious Davis for a 68-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion failed, giving the Blue Devils a 26-14 lead. The quarter would end with that score.
The Bulldogs closed to within a touchdown again at the 11:54 mark of the fourth quarter when Horton scored his second touchdown of the night on a 5-yard run. The Dawgs missed the PAT, but closed the Blue Devil lead to 26-20.
Etowah closed out the scoring for the night when Thompsan found Ollie Finch for a 15-yard touchdown. The Blue Devils’ Alehandro Corona tacked on the PAT, giving Etowah their final lead at 33-20.
Statistically, Thompson went 3-for-7 for 94 yards. Lashon Young had to catches for 81 yards and Horton had one catch for 13 yards. Horton tallied two touchdowns and 111 yards on 23 carries. Christian Dunning had 7 carries for 50 yards. Jaylin Dixon had 4 carries for 17 yards and Thompson had 10 carries for 16 yards. Elliot Lucy had one carry for 6 yards and Delvontae Lucy had 2 carries for 1 yard.
The Bulldogs (6-3, 6-0) are scheduled to be off next week, which gives them two weeks to prepare for their first round playoff matchup.