The Andalusia Junior High School Bulldogs gave it their all, but just couldn’t stop Dauphin from hitting on big play, and fell 27-14 Thursday night in Andalusia.

Dauphin struck first in the opening period with a 45-yard touchdown pass and catch. The Dauphin kicker split the uprights to give them a 7-0 lead with 4:03 left in the opening quarter.

On the following drive, the Bulldogs started moving the ball steadily with runs from Brandon Gurley and Jake Wilson. Wilson also connected with Michael Hourel Jr. for a 7-yard pass and catch. However, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and Dauphin recovered.

Just as soon as Dauphin got the ball, Andalusia’s Roman Smith made a perfect read on a pass play as he stepped in front for the interception.

The Bulldogs started driving again, but ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Andalusia picked up another turnover on the following drive when a host of Bulldog defenders ripped the ball free from the Dauphin running back.

Gurley and Wilson picked up back-to-back first down runs to start the drive, and then Brandon Gurley capped off the drive a few plays later with a 53-yard touchdown run.

Brandon Gurley took the handoff from Wilson and outran the Dauphin defense to the end zone with 31 seconds left in the opening half.

Josh Gurley tacked on the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead.

Dauphin responded quickly with a touchdown pass before halftime to take a 14-8 lead into half.

After forcing the Bulldogs to punt to start the third quarter, Dauphin added another touchdown for a 21-7 lead.

The Bulldogs continued to grind it out in the final period as Josh Gurley scored his first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run up the middle. The two-point conversion failed and Andalusia trailed 27-14.

“We just didn’t do a good job defending the pass,” AJHS head coach John Dugger said. “We gave up way too many big plays. Right now, we are still a young team, but we are going to continue to get better.”

Dugger said he was pleased with effort of the Bulldogs.

“I was proud of the way the kids played,” Dugger said. “They continued to fight and they never gave up. I thought both of the Gurleys played well at running back, and Jake Wilson did a good job at quarterback. We still have some things that we need to work on, but the good news is we have week to do it.”