Dogs dehorn Rams
Published 12:46 am Saturday, October 23, 2010
Andalusia racked up 368 yards on offense Friday night, and scored five touchdowns in the first half to earn a 41-26 victory over Headland at Bulldogs Stadium.
Despite allowing the most points on defense this season to the Rams, the Bulldogs will have to get ready for county rival Opp next week to close out the regular season.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” AHS coach Brian Seymore said. “I know Opp is not going to the playoffs, but they’ll treat it like a playoff game. We’ve got to match that intensity and come out ready to play next week.
“Our defense plays better than that,” he said. “It’s disappointing, but it’s a win. It’s probably the best offense we’ve played all year.”
The Bulldogs shot off to a good start at the beginning of the first quarter, where senior quarterback Adam Zelensky rushed in three yards for a score with 10:14 left in the first quarter. Zelensky was 2-of-3 for 45 yards in passing.
Andalusia’s defense held the Rams to a three-and-out on its first defense series, and with 8:19 remaining in the first quarter, the Bulldogs took over at their own 47-yard line.
Less than three minutes later, Andalusia senior linebacker Johnnie Jones, who came in as a tailback, rushed three yards for a touchdown at the 5:53 mark. Andalusia kicker Courey Hopkins’ second PAT was blocked, and the Bulldogs took a 13-0 lead.
Andalusia’s three additional touchdowns before half time came as a result on a defensive spark from Joseph Flowers, who intercepted Headland’s Aaron Sanders’ pass late in the first.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Bulldogs tacked on their third touchdown on a five-yard run by Jacard Townsend. Hopkins’ extra point was good. Hopkins finished the night 5-of-6 in extra point attempts for the Bulldogs.
Headland had to punt the ball just over two minutes later, and Andalusia took the ball over on its own 44-yard line.
From there, the Bulldogs completed a seven-play, 56-yard drive down the field for a score.
The highlights from this one drive came when Zelensky connected with C.P. Rogers for a 35-yard pass and senior running back Derrick King rushed the ball nine yards for a touchdown with 7:11 left in the second.
Andalusia took a comfortable 27-0 lead, but the Rams answered on their next offensive possession when senior Jahwon Williams’ 26-yard pass landed in the arms of Yorey Collins in the end zone. Williams then connected with Laboris Cushion for the two-point conversion.
Headland kicked an on-side kick, where the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and gave the Rams the ball back.
Fortunately, the Bulldogs (8-1, 7-0) defense held Headland (4-5, 2-5), and with 35.7 seconds left in the first half, Townsend scored again on a 48-yard rush. Hopkins’ extra point was good to help the Bulldogs take a 34-8 lead.
Headland came out in the second half, and managed to squeeze three additional touchdowns on two passes and one rush from Williams.
Williams’ touchdown passes came from 18 and 29 yards out to Peyton Money and Cushion, respectively.
These touchdowns came as a result of two turnovers from the second-string offense.
Seymore said the turnovers came as a result of the players not playing consistently.
“It was just inconsistent,” he said. “We’ve got a couple starters knicked up right there and you can tell some of the back up guys didn’t do a really good job. The big plays killed us all night.
“It was a win, and we’ll move on to next week,” he said. “I’m excited for our players and coaches. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
While Headland had some momentum early in the fourth quarter, Andalusia’s Catlin Jones got a sack on Williams for a loss of four yards. Jones led the Bulldogs in tackles with 12. Montell Lee also had a good night on defense with 10.
Andalusia finished its scoring drive Friday night in style.
From 58 yards out, Jones scampered across the field for pay dirt with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
King led in rushing with 15 carries for 103 yards and scored one touchdown.
Jones added seven carries for 96 yards and two scores; Townsend had six carries for 97 yards and two scores; and Zelensky scored one rushing touchdown.