Bulldogs hold on to beat Barton
Earle defense preserves lead with fourth-quarter shutdown
sports@theeveningtimes.com
The Barton Bears had some chances late in the game last Friday night in Lexa, but the Earle defense was not having it.
The Bulldogs were on the road in the second week of the football season looking for the team’s first win.
Earle came out firing in the first quarter, putting 12 points on the board. The name of the game, though, for the Bulldogs was defense. Earle’s first score came courtesy of a recovered Bears fumble that gave the Bulldogs excellent field position. Starting from the Barton 24-yard line, Earle ran the ball in for a quick six.
Barton then proceeded to march the ball down field before reaching the red zone. But the defense stepped up again on a fourth and goal on the seven-yard line, giving up nothing and giving the ball back to the offense, who picked up another TD late in the first quarter, making it 12-0 Earle.
The Bears got on the board with a rushing touchdown with five minutes left in the half to make it 12-6, then 12-8 with the 2-point conversion. But Earle answered right back with another big defensive play, with Jeremiah McVay running back another Barton fumble for a 34-yard touchdown run, making is 18-8 at the half.
It was more of the same for Earle in the second half, as Nickolas Mathis picked up yet another Barton fumble, running it back nearly the length of the field with a 93-yard fumble return touchdown to make it Earle 24, Barton 8.
After a failed fourth down conversion by Earle, Barton’s Kavein Davis found the end zone with a 69yard rushing TD to close the gap to 24-14. Then it was time for the Bears to show some defensive skills, as Bryce Spurlock intercepted an Earle pass to give Barton another shot with good field position, which Davis capitalized on with another rushing touchdown, making it 2422 after another two-point conversion.
And it was there that the score remained.
Both teams had their chances late in the game to add more points to the scoreboard. Earle and Barton each had an interception, but it came down to another fourth-down stand by the Bulldogs, only this time with possession of the ball. And the offense came through, securing the first down with less than a minute on the clock.
The Bulldogs (1-1) will now prepare for their match-up against Cross County this Friday night.
Game time is 7 p.m.
