Sweet Water Head Coach Stacy Luker discusses strategy with his offensive unit as assistant Scott Luker listens intently.

Sweet Water accumulated 225 yards of total offense with 190 yards coming on the ground. Meanwhile their defense held the very athletic Indian offense to 198 total yards limiting them to only 43 total yards in the second half. The Bulldogs only threw three passes during the game completing one for a 35-yard touchdown. Otherwise the longest play from scrimmage was a 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. “I was very proud of the patience that our offense showed Friday night,” Coach Stacy Luker said. “We basically went straight at them all night with the second half being played between the tackles. Our defense kept giving us the ball in good field position and the offense took advantage of it.”

Leading the Sweet Water defense was Dominic Holt with 10 tackles, Travion Lockett with eight tackles and Paul Lynn with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Patrick Gamble and Butch Williams also had pass interceptions for the Bulldogs. On offense Anthony Landrum led the rushing attack with 85 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns, while Dominic Holt had 66 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. In the air Dion Williams was 1-3 passing for 35 yards with his lone completion going to Drew Luker for a 35-yard touchdown.

In the game itself Sweet Water received the opening kickoff but could not get anything going and after three downs was forced to punt. Just like the Bulldogs, the Indians were held to a three and out on their first possession. In their second possession the Bulldogs were able to churn out one first down before having to punt. The Indians appeared to have something going on their second possession having moved the ball to the Bulldog 35-yard line. On second down from that point Sweet Waters’ Paul Lynn broke through the line and sacked Loachapoka’s quarterback stripping the ball in the process then falling on it himself at the Sweet Water 40-yard line. Following the turnover the Bulldogs went to work executing a 16 play drive that covered the 60 yards and used over eight minutes of the clock. Anthony Landrum ended the drive when he scored from two yards out on a fourth and goal situation, one of three fourth down conversions in the drive. The extra point attempt failed but the Bulldogs had a 6-0 lead with 6:16 to play in the second quarter.

Following the ensuing kickoff the Indians marched 85 yards and scored on a one yard run. During the drive they completed back to back 12 and 15 yard pass plays to keep the drive alive. After a successful extra point Loachapoka had a 7-6 lead with 2:25 to play in the first half. Now with the lead the Indian defense held the Bulldogs to another three and out, forcing a punt. On the punt the Indian return man brought the ball back 33 yards to Sweet Water’s 30-yard line with about a minute to play in the half. The Bulldog defense rallied and stopped the Indians at the 20-yard line ending the first half with Indians on top 7-6.

After receiving the opening kickoff in the second half Loachapoka picked up a quick first down and appeared to be on a roll. On a third and three at midfield the Bulldog’s Blake Luker stepped up big tackling the Indian ball carrier for a 3-yard loss, forcing the Indians into a punting situation. A high snap was mishandled by the punter allowing the Bulldogs to tackle him at the Loachapoka 35-yard line. Taking over on downs, the Bulldogs struck on their fist play when Dion Williams found Drew Luker running free in the Indian secondary for a 35-yard touchdown pass. Phillipp Scheide added the extra point and Sweet Water had retaken the lead at 13-6 with 8:35 to play in the third quarter. Having regained the lead the Bulldog defense stepped it up a notch stopping the home standing Indians on three downs forcing another punt. After the punt Sweet Water put the ball in play at the 45-yard line and proceeded to pound the ball toward pay dirt again. Along the way they converted another fourth and two situation into a first down. The drive was ended when Dominic Holt barreled in from the 4-yard line. Anthony Landrum added the two point conversion and Sweet Water was up 21-7 with 3:29 left in the third quarter.

The Indians were stuffed on their next possession forcing them to punt. A short punt set the Bulldog offense up at the Loachapoka 36-yard line. From there the Bulldogs got on the board again in short order with Anthony Landrum picking up his second touchdown on a 7-yard scamper. Scheide’s extra point was good and the Bulldogs had increased their lead to 28-7 with 7:47 left to play. On Loachapoka’s next possession Butch Williams stepped in front of an intended receiver and picked off a pass returning it to the Indian 30-yard line. Two plays later Dominic Holt raced in from 23 yards out for his second touchdown and the Bulldog’s final score. Scheide came on to kick his third extra point and the Bulldog lead was 35-7 with 3:25 to play in the game.

That’s the way the game would end sending the Bulldogs into the semi-final round against Brantley with a 11-2 record while the Indians ended their season at 12-1.

Looking ahead to this week, Sweet Water will be facing a confident Brantley Bulldog team steeped with tradition. They currently have a 13-0 record having gone 25-1 over the last two seasons. Their only loss came last season in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. On their way to the perfect mark this season they have defeated a good Luverne team in the regular season and good Reeltown and American Christian teams during the playoffs. They have certainly lived up to their early season projection as one of the favorites in class 1A. “This is a good Brantley football team,” Coach Luker said. “They are fast, athletic, and have good size. Like always, they have outstanding skill people on offense and play great defense. They will be a real challenge for us!”

Game time is 7 p.m. at Nolan Atkins Stadium. Come early if you want a seat. An overflow crowd is expected.