Sweet Water rolls over Sunshine
By Charlie Anderson Contributing Writer

PHOTO BY JOHNNY AUTERY Sweet Water running back Johnny Lockett fights off a Sunshine defender as he crosses the goal line in Friday night's game.

The Sweet Water Bulldogs traveled to Newbern this past Friday, September 14, and blanked the Sunshine Tigers 64 - 0. With the win the Bulldogs improved to 3 - 0 on the season and 2 - 0 in region play. From the beginning to the end the game it was all Sweet Water as they took charge early and never relented. "I thought we came out and took care of business like good and well seasoned football team should," Coach Stacy Luker said. "We were focused on the task at hand and played sound football on both sides of the ball. We blocked and executed well on offense and were very stingy on defense." Indeed the Bulldogs executed well on offense rolling up 456 total yards with all of it coming on the ground. As far as the defense is concerned, stingy might be an understatement as the Bulldogs only allowed the Tigers two first downs, with both of them coming in the second half, and held them to a -16 total yards of offense.

PHOTO BY JOHNNY AUTERY A host of Bulldogs corral a Sunshine runner Friday night.

Leading the Sweet Water offense against the Tigers was Anthony Landrum with 246 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. Following him was; Cordaryl Curtis with 70 yards and one touchdown on three carries and Jeremy Landrum with 65 yards and one touchdown on four carries.

Defensively the Bulldogs spread things around with Delano Brewer and Devin Wolf

0APR leading the charge with nine tackles each. They were followed by Nakia Dennis and Johnny Lockett with seven tackles each while Drew Luker had five. Brewer also had a fumble recovery to his credit while Lockett blocked a punt and Antonio Landrum had an interception, his fourth of the season.

In the game, the Bulldogs got the scoring started early when Johnny Lockett blocked a Sunshine punt and Damaraquis Williams scooped it up and scored from five yards out. Scottie Nelson kicked the extrapoint and the Bulldogs were out front 7 - 0 with 9:52 remaining in the opening quarter.

Lockett continued with his heroics a few minutes later but did his deed on offense this time racing in from 17 yards out. Nelson's extra-point attempt missed the mark this time but the Bulldogs had increased their lead to 13 - 0 with 6:08 remaining in the opening stanza.

The next change in the score didn't occur until the mid point of the second quarter when Anthony Landrum broke loose and rambled 43 yards for the first of four touchdowns he would have during the game. Johnny Lockett added the two point conversion and the Bulldogs led 21 - 0 with 5:43 yet to play in the second quarter.

The Bulldog defense got in the act again at the 3:07 point of the period when they corralled the Tiger offense in the end zone for a safety increasing the Sweet Water lead to 23 - 0.

Following the free kick by Sunshine the Bulldog offense wasted little time getting into the end zone again scoring on a 33 yard scamper by Anthony Landrum with 2:43 left to play in the second quarter. Scottie Nelson added the extra-point and Sweet Water was on top 30 - 0.

After another stuffing of the Sunshine offense by their defense, the Bulldogs had time to tack on one more score before halftime and did so when Anthony Landrum scored his third touchdown of the quarter on a 45 yard dash to pay dirt. Nelson's kick was true and Sweet Water led 37 - 0 with :11 to play before intermission.

The third quarter found the Bulldogs picking up where they left off in the first half with Anthony Landrum scoring yet another touchdown. This time Landrum sprinted in from 28 yards out. Nelson knocked the extra-point through and the Bulldogs led 44 - 0 with 8:59 to play in the third period.

It was Landrum scoring again for the Bulldogs at the 3:30 mark of the third quarter. This time however it was Antonio Landrum who had the honors plunging in from three yards out to pick up the touchdown. Nelson split the uprights again increasing the lead to 51 - 0.

With the game well in hand at this point, the Bulldog coaches basically put the rest of the game in the hands of their younger players, giving them an opportunity to pick up some valuable playing experience. Just as expected, they responded in a positive way continuing to hold the Tigers at bay while adding two more touchdowns.

The first of the other touchdowns came with 7:42 left in the fourth quarter when Cordaryl Curtis darted in from 24 yards out. Nelson kicked another one through and the Bulldog lead stood at 58 - 0.

Jeremy Landrum got the Bulldogs' final points with 1:51 left to play in the game when took off on a 49 yard gallop for a touchdown. The extra-point attempt failed leaving the final score at 64 - 0.

As good as it was, the Bulldogs can't afford to bask in the light of their win over Sunshine but must turn their attention toward the Linden Patriots who will come calling this week. The Patriots who are currently ranked number 6 in the 1A state pole will enter the game with Sweet Water 3 - 0 overall and 2 - 0 in region play just like the Bulldogs. "Linden has a fine football team," Coach Stacy Luker said. "They are big upfront and have some out standing skill players, two of which are considered Division I prospects. With Andro Williams at the helm we know they will be well coached and will come in here playing with a lot of emotion." Besides being an in-county rivalry the game has big implications in the region with the winner being expected to have a leg up on winning the 1A Region 4 championship.

The game between the Bulldogs and Patriots is scheduled for Friday, September 21, at Nolan Atkins Stadium with the kickoff set for 7:00 PM.

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