Patriots overcome Bulldogs, rain to return to championship game
The Linden Patriots hosted the Brantley Bulldogs Friday night in the AHSA Class 1A Football Semi-Finals. With rain falling the entire game, the fleet-footed Patriots had to overcome a slick field, as well as the Bulldogs, en route to the 22-7 win.
Things looked shaky for the Patriots on their opening two possessions. The Patriots speed and cutting ability was somewhat nullified by the condition of the rain soaked field. A fumbled snap on their first possession and a interception on their second possession gave the visiting Bulldogs a short field to work with on their first two possessions.
However, the Patriot defense rose to the occasion and was responsible for the first score of the night. Joshua Williams picked off a Bulldog pass at the Linden 2-yard line, weaved in and out of his blockers, then broke free for a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. Williams also ran in the 2-point conversion, giving the Patriots an 8-0 lead with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter.
The Patriots second score of the night also came at the hands of the defense. On the first play of the second quarter, Jamarcus Williams picked up a Bulldog fumble and raced to the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown. The 2-point try failed, but the Patriots stretched their lead to 14-0 over the Bulldogs with 11:45 to go in the second quarter.
Brantley fought back and scored on a run with 2:02 to go in the first half. The PAT cut the Patriot lead to 14-7 going into halftime.
The Patriots got their final score of the night on their first possession of the third quarter. Joshua Williams took a quarterback draw right through the middle of the Bulldog defense, made a couple cuts then broke free and outran everyone to the end zone for the Patriots’s final touchdown of the night. The 70-yard run came at the 8:43 mark of the third quarter. Timothy Thurman’s 2-point conversion run put the Patriots up 22-7.
The Patriot defense came up with couple huge stops on fourth down conversion attempts by the Bulldogs in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
(Statistics will be updated when available.)
The Patriots will play for the 2020 AHSAA Class 1A State Championship Thursday at 2:45pm at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Their opponent will be their first opponent of the 2020 season, Pickens County. The Patriots won that game 36-0, but both teams have been through an entire season since then.
