It was another big night for the Andalusia (5-1, 3-0) offensive line and Jamal Hourel who rolled up 291 yards and three touchdowns in a 19-16 victory over cross-county rival Opp (4-1, 2-0) Friday night in Opp.

The Bulldogs’ defense came out strong and forced the Bobcats to punt after going three-and-out on the game’s opening drive.

Hourel got the first carry for the Bulldogs and reeled off 6 yards. The Bulldogs marched down the field, but on a third-and-8 play Andalusia quarterback Taylor Griffin had a pass intercepted by Opp’s Darian Germany.

The Bobcats couldn’t keep the ball long though, as a swarming Bulldog defense forced another three-and-out.

However, the Bobcat defense stepped up and held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out even after Hourel started the drive with a 6-yard run.

After the punt, the Bulldogs’ defense continued to swarm the ball, and Demetrius Lane got the series kicked off when he dropped Raheem Bonam for a loss of 4 yards. The Bulldog defense forced the Bobcats to punt following a third straight three-and-out.

Following the punt, Hourel took the first carry of the drive 62 yards to the house, but Chase Hopkins’ extra-point attempt was blocked as the Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.

Once again when the Bobcats took over, the Andalusia defense continued to hem up the running lanes and forced a fourth consecutive three-and-out. During the series, Lane made another stop in the backfield.

The Bulldogs took over at their own 20-yard line, but fumbled it away. The Bobcats recovered on the Andalusia 38.

Hennis Washington picked up the Bobcats’ first first down after picking up 12 yards on two carries. Washington picked up another first down with a 13-yard run, but the Bobcat drive stalled on the 11-yard line and a field goal attempt came up short.

Andalusia took over on its own 20-yard line again and Hourel picked up 14 and 10 yards on the first two plays to get the Bulldogs near midfield. On third-and-7, Hourel picked up another first down on a 10-yard run and then capped the drive off with a 20-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs attempted a two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful as the Bulldogs led 12-0 with 2:14 left in the second quarter.

The Bobcats then took over and began to drive down the field after picking up a first down on an Orlando Lacey pass to Reggie Thompson, and a second first down on a 12-yard run from Lacey.

A few plays later, however, Lacey launched a pass downfield and Andalusia’s Roosevelt Weaver went up and corralled the ball for an interception.

The Bulldogs just knelt on the ball following the interception, as they took a 12-0 lead into halftime.

Andalusia got the ball to start the second half, but the Bobcats’ defense stood strong and held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out. Devontae Williams picked up a sack that dropped the Bulldogs for a loss of 8 yards to force a punt.

The Bulldogs defense picked up where they left off in the first half, and forced the Bobcats into a three-and-out.

Andalusia took over at its own 43-yard line, but the Bobcats’ defense forced a fourth down and the Bulldogs failed to convert as they turned the ball over on downs.

After forcing another punt from the Bobcats, Hourel picked up 30 yards on the first play of the drive and then capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown. Hopkins’ extra-point split the uprights to give the Bulldogs a 19-0 lead with 1:22 left in the third.

After Hopkins’ kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback, Lacey picked up 20 yards on the ground and then connected with Thompson for 10 yards and another first down. The Bobcats marched down the field and Washington pounded his way into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. The Bobcats then converted a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 19-8 with 10 minutes left in the contest.

The Bobcats’ defense stepped back up and held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out.

When the Bobcats took over, Thompson lined up at quarterback and went 51 yards on a designed run to put the Bobcats in prime field position.

The Bulldog defense wasn’t giving in, though, and Lane came up with a sack on a fourth down play to end the Bobcat threat.

Andalusia didn’t keep the ball long, as a fumble two plays later was picked up by Opp on the Bulldogs’ 25 yard-line.

Four plays later, Thompson heaved a ball to the end zone. An Andalusia defender appeared to be in position to bat the ball down, but tipped the ball into the waiting arms of Lane Worley for a 37-yard touchdown. Washington scampered in for the two-point conversion as the Bobcats trimmed the lead down to 19-16 with four minutes left.

On the final drive of the game, the Bulldogs ate up the remainder of the clock as Hourel picked up 62 more yards to ice the game.

“It was ugly,” Bulldog head coach Trent Taylor said. “I was a disappointed with a few things. We turned the ball over a three times, and we can’t do that. This has been a tough six weeks. I’m glad it’s over and proud of where we are at. Tonight, I thought we played well in the first half, but we needed to come out and play the second half with more passion than we did. Now we get ready for the second half of the season, and four-straight region games.”

Hopkins ended the night with three of his four kickoffs going for touchbacks, and also had a 46-yard punting average.

“I felt like our defense fought hard all night long,” Bobcats’ coach Brent Hill said. “Offensively, we got off to a slow start, but I was happy that we didn’t quit. One thing I said was that big time players make big time plays in big games and Jamal (Hourel) did that for Andalusia tonight. That kid is something and I have tremendous respect for him. I was very proud of the way our guys kept fighting and the way Reggie Thompson stepped in at quarterback. We will look at it and figure out what we need to do to get better. We don’t have time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves, because T.R. Miller will be ready.”

Lacey finished the night with 74 yards on 9 carries to the lead the Bobcats, and Washington finished with 47 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.

Opp will host T.R. Miller next Friday night, and Andalusia will head to Bullock County.