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Bulldogs in finals again
The Bulldog offense which accumulated 428 total yards garnered 310 on the ground and picked up another 118 in the air. Leading the Sweet Water rushing attack was Anthony Landrum with 202 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries. Johnny Lockett was next with 49 yards and one touchdown on three carries while Drew Luker had 42 yards on nine carries.
Over on defense the Bulldogs were led by Nakia Dennis with seven tackles and one sack followed by Delano Brewer with six stops. The Bulldog defense also picked off three Red Devil passes with Wes Burnett, Drew Luker and Devin Wolf each snagging one. The visiting Red Devils actually got on the scoreboard first in the game when they completed a 35 yard pass for a touchdown with 9:50 to play in the first quarter. Their two point conversion attempt was no good but they had the early 6 - 0 lead. Sweet Water answered the score driving 64 yards in 12 plays for the touchdown. Anthony Landrum got the honors bulling his way in from five yards out with 2:37 to play in the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good but the Bulldogs had knotted the score at 6 - 6. The Bulldogs then took the lead midway the second quarter completing a 12 play 80 yard drive with a three yard Anthony Landrum plunge for the touchdown. The extra-point try was no good again but Sweet Water was on top 12 - 6 with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter. After the defense stopped the Red Devils on their next possession the Bulldogs launched another long drive for points going 75 yards in 11 plays. It was Anthony Landrum culminating the drive with another three yard touchdown run with :26 remaining in the first half. Scottie Nelson's extra-point attempt was good this time putting the Bulldogs on top 19 - 6. Just when it appeared the teams would head to the locker rooms with the Bulldogs in complete control a strange thing happened. The Red Devils got on the scoreboard for a second time when they took two plays to strike pay dirt. The actual touchdown came on a 36 yard pass play as time expired in the first half. Their two point conversion was good cutting the Sweet Water lead to 19 - 14. Responding like the experienced and mature football team they are, the Bulldogs scored again on their first possession of the second half driving the ball 74 yards in six plays. Anthony Landrum ended the drive with his fourth touchdown of the night blasting his way in from five yards out with 5:06 to play in the fourth quarter. Scottie Nelson's extra-point split the uprights and the Sweet Water lead stood at 26 - 14. Maplesville would not go away however and closed the gap to 26 - 22 when they scored on a 10 yard run and picked up another two point conversion with 1:24 to play in the third quarter. If that weren't bad enough the Red Devils made a stop on the Bulldogs on their next possession and turned it around and were driving for the lead when Nakia Dennis caused a fumble that Johnny Lockett fell on at the Sweet Water 27 yard line. From there the Bulldogs scored in two plays. Anthony Landrum put the Bulldogs in good position rambling 43 yards on first down. Johnny Lockett finished the drive taking it the final 30 yards for the touchdown on the next play. Scottie Nelson's extra-point was on target and the Bulldogs led 33 - 22 with 10:00 to play in the fourth quarter. It was the Bulldog defense's time to go on the offensive then as Wes Burnett intercepted a pass tipped by Tyrice Lockett and ran it back inside the Red Devil 10 yard line where he lateraled the ball to Johnny Lockett who took it in for the touchdown. Scottie Nelson's extra-point attempt was blocked but the Bulldog lead had increased to 39 22 with 9:12 left in the fourth quarter. The Red Devils bounced back minute later when they scored on 22 yard pass with 8:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Their two point conversion was good and they were back with in nine points at 39 - 30 After another stop of the Bulldog offense it appeared the Red Devils were destined to draw even closer as they began moving toward Bulldog territory. But once again it was the Bulldog defense that stepped up big turning a pass interception by Devin Wolf into a 55 yard touchdown. Scottie Nelson drilled the extra-point and Sweet Water led 46 - 30 with 5:32 to play in the game. The high octane Maplesville offense would not give up however despite being down by sixteen and scored quickly on a 52 yard pass play with 4:45 left on the clock. The two point conversion attempt fell short but the Bulldog lead had been cut to 46 - 36. That's the way it would end up as the Red Devil onside kick attempt was recovered by the Bulldogs and the Bulldog offense was able to run the remaining time on the clock off. The win by the Bulldogs in the Semi Finals sends them back to the AHSAA Super 6 Finals at Legion Field in Birmingham to defend their 1A title. It will mark the third time in the last four years that the Bulldogs have advanced to the finals having won 1A State Championships in 2004 and 2006. Their opponent in this year's finals will be the Talladega County Central Tigers who advanced to the championship round with 13 - 7 win over Sulligent in the Semi Finals last Friday. The Tigers who the Bulldogs will be defending their State Title against are 14 - 0 on the season. "Talladega County Central has a very fast and athletic team that plays great defense," Sweet Water Coach Stacy Luker said. "They are returning all 22 starters off last year's team that went 8 - 5 and lost out in the quarter finals. They have a very stingy defense that has shut out seven of their opponents this season and are averaging giving up only six points a game. We are looking forward to a very physical game and we are glad we are able to be back defending our title."
The game between the Sweet Water Bulldogs and the Talladega County Central Tigers is scheduled for this Thursday, December 6, at Legion Field in Birmingham with the kickoff for the contest is set at 3:00 PM.
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