Sweet Water rolls past John Essex 48-6
By Charlie Anderson Contributing Writer

PHOTO BY JOHNNY AUTERY Tyrell Jenkins tackles an Essex running back for a loss.

The Sweet Water Bulldogs; who played host to the John Essex Hornets this past Friday, October 26, in the 2007 homecoming game for the Bulldogs; improved their season record to 8 - 0 and their region mark to 6 - 0 when they soundly defeated their in-county rivals 48 - 6. "I was pleased with the effort of our players against John Essex," Sweet Water Coach Stacy Luker said. "Our starters executed well and took care of business early which allowed us to play our younger players more. I thought that was especially good this week considering that it was our homecoming."

In the game the Bulldogs accumulated 279 yards of offense while holding the hornets to a - 29 yards. Leading the offensive attack for the Bulldogs on the ground was Drew Luker with 43 yards on two carries. Johnny Lockett was next with 33 yards and a touchdown on two carries while Anthony Landrum had 26 yards and two touchdowns on four carries. In the air Drew Luker was 6 for 10 for 58 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Damaraquis Williams was the leading receiver in the game with two catches for 23 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball Desmond Bouler led the charge with seven tackles followed by Delano Brewer and Devin Wolf with six stops each. Brewer also had a pass interception for a touchdown in the game.

The Bulldog defense got the scoring started for Sweet Water early in the first quarter on Brewer's interception and 15 yard return for a touchdown. The Bulldogs' extrapoint attempt failed but they were out front 6 - 0.

They added to the lead twice later in the quarter with two rushing touchdowns. The first one came on one yard plunge by Anthony Landrum. Scottie Nelson added the extra-point and the Bulldogs led 13 - 0.

Johnny Lockett was the next Bulldog to strike pay dirt in the quarter darting in from six yards out. Scottie Nelson was on the mark with the extra-point again and the Sweet Water lead stood at 20 - 0 as the second quarter got under way.

With the defense basically shutting down the John Essex offense the Sweet Water offense continued their onslaught in the second period as Anthony Landrum picked up his second touchdown of the evening on an 18 yard scamper. Scottie Nelson drilled the extra-point and the Bulldogs were on top 27 - 0.

It was Sweet Water's aerial game that added to the Bulldog lead next when Drew Luker hooked up with Johnny Lockett on a 13 yard strike mid-way the second period. Scottie Nelson tacked on the extra-point and the Bulldogs had increased their lead to 34 - 0 with time still remaining on the second quarter clock.

John Essex's quarterback was responsible for the Bulldogs' final points of the first half when he was charged with intentionally grounding the ball while backed up in his own endzone. The grounding call by the officials resulted in a safety on the Hornets which gave the Bulldogs two points and raised their lead to 36 - 0.

Having already started to substitute liberally before the first half ended, the final two quarters of the game belonged to Sweet Water's future Bulldogs. Playing against the younger guys the Hornets managed to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a 16 yard pass for a touchdown, They added a two point conversion cutting into the Sweet Water lead at 36 - 8.

The young Bulldog offense responded to the Hornet score a few minutes later in the period when Chris Landrum rambled 14 yards for a Sweet Water touchdown. The extra-point attempt failed but the Bulldogs had a 42 - 8 lead that they took with them into the fourth quarter.

Sweet Water closed out the scoring in the game in the fourth quarter when Chris Landrum picked up his second touchdown of the night diving in from one yard out. The extrapoint attempt failed again making the final 48 - 8.

With the Region 4 title in hand the undefeated Bulldogs will be traveling to Tuscaloosa this week to take on the 2A American Christian Academy Patriots in the final regular season game for both squads. The Patriots, who are 8 and 1 on the season with their only loss coming on a forfeit of a game they originally won handily in the first week of the season, are considered by many to be one of the favorites to win the southern half of the state in the upcoming playoffs.

"Our game with ACA this week is a big one for us," Coach Stacy Luker said. "We enjoy playing them every year because they are a tough opponent who will give us a good measurement on how much we've improved over the course of the year. That is particularly important with us starting the playoffs the following week. Just as they have in the past, this years' Patriot team runs a high octane spread offense that will put pressure on our defense all over the field. Add to that the fact that their defense appears to be more physical this year than ever before and you can see that we will need to be at our best when we play them."

The game between Sweet Water and American Christian is scheduled for Friday, November 2, in Tuscaloosa at Freedom Field with kickoff set for 7:00 PM.

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