Andalusia High School’s defensive effort kept the Booker T. Washington offense without scoring on the way to a crucial regional victory that ensures the first round of home playoffs against the Bulldogs.
The Golden Eagles played tough throughout the game, and were trailing Andalusia by just one point going into the second half 7-6. However, a kickoff returned by Kal Crittenden in the second period energized the Bulldogs who won the win with a score of 27-6 to stay unbeaten on the year.
The head coach Trent Taylor said it wasn’t one of his teams cleanest performances, but he also recognized his players for their ability to overcome adversity in the face of physically demanding Golden Eagles.
“It was not the most beautiful game particularly in the first period,” Taylor said. “They [BTW] are an outstanding group of athletes and we knew this going in to play. They deserve a lot of praise, but I was satisfied with the way our players showed up at halftime. We have a few things we can figure out to improve our .”
Although it was true that the Golden Eagles had some big play however, their Bulldog defense was the dominant one in keeping the opposing offense in a deadlock. BTW’s only score was an interception return in the opening quarter, which gave them an early lead of 6-0 after they failed to convert an attempt to convert two points.
The Bulldogs took over after gaining possession of its own 40-yard mark, courtesy of an 18-yard return from Kam Weaver. Running back J’Marion Burnette took the first two carries of 11 yards. In the third quarter, when facing third-and-11 quarterback Jack Lathrop connected with Parker Adams for a big gain of 25 yards to it the Eagle 26. A few handoffs for Burnette along with Zerrick Jones placed the Bulldogs at 9 yards. The second penalty for holding of the drive helped back the Bulldogs up and they were able to get their first touchdown, but Lathrop discovered Adams and he proceeded to avoid defenders and score an 18-yard touchdown catch. Cobb Stewart’s point after gave Andalusia an advantage of 7-6 with just 30 seconds left in the first half.
In the second half after they had scored an interception for the second time in this game they Golden Eagles marched as far as the Andalusia 22. They Golden Eagles momentarily had a touchdown in the edge of the zone however, Neillex Ferrell came in hard and threw the ball out of to the player’s arms. Three minutes later it came to Cadariyus Love’s time to create an important move, taking in an interception and granting the Bulldogs possession of five yards.
AHS seniors Parker Adams led the team with three catches for 70 yards. He also scored the 19-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs were able to complete a long drive that lasted the majority of the remaining minutes during the opening half. They stalled at the BTW 24 yard line after failing to convert the fourth-and-seven.
The second period began with a quick beginning with Crittenden’s first kickoff and return for 78 yards leading Andalusia to a 14-6 advantage.
The Bulldog defense took over and even held to the Golden Eagles on two fourth down conversions. The offense, however, relied on Burnette who scored two yards of running late in the third, and a 34-yard slam halfway through the fourth quarter to make it a scoring.
Burnette completed his game with 169 yards and 22 carries and two touchdowns.
Lathrop was 13-of-18 for 133 yards, scoring one touchdown and two interceptions. Adams was the top receiver with three catches with 70 yards each and one touchdown. Crittenden made four catch with 25 yards.
In defense, Ferrell was the leader with 8 tackles. Landen Marshall as well as Xavier Marshall each had five tackles. Tristan Pitts recording four, Riley Tucker had three stops and Love was able to record three tackles, with two of which were to lose. L. Marshall also had two losses on tackles.
The win will set an all-comers-all-winners region championship next week as Andalusia (9-0, 6-1) will travel to Montgomery Catholic (9-0, 6-0) in a game between unbeaten teams. Andalusia ranks the first in 4A, while the Knights were ranked third in the poll prior to Friday night’s game.
“They (Montgomery Catholic) have a very good football team this year. We’ll have to put in the work this week, and try our best to ensure that it’s an excellent match,” Taylor said.
The article Bulldogs reduce B.T. Washington to secure crucial region win and set up a matchup between unbeaten teams for the region championship next week first appeared at The Andalusia Star-News.
