The No. 1-ranked Andalusia Bulldogs came out strong and held off the St. James Trojans for a 30-8 victory in the second round of the AHSAA Class 4A state playoffs.

St. James got the ball to start the game and moved the ball into Bulldog territory behind solid runs from Tony Amerson.

The Bulldog defense then buckled down and held the Trojans on fourth down to force a turnover.

Andalusia responded with big runs from Roosevelt Weaver and Ethan Wilson, but the Trojans’ Tyler Robertson picked off a Wilson pass at the Bulldog 1-yard line.

Amerson reeled off a 42-yard run on the second play of the Trojans’ following drive, but then fumbled the ball a few plays later.

Andalusia’s Gill Morgan dove on the loose ball to give the Bulldogs possession.

Wilson hit B.J. Anderson deep in Trojan territory to get the Bulldog drive started.

Wilson then broke free for a 13-yard touchdown to give Andalusia the lead with less than a minute left in the first quarter.

The extra-point attempt was blocked as the Bulldogs held a 6-0 lead.

Andalusia’s defense came out on fire on the next series and forced the Trojans into a three-and-out.

After forcing the Bulldogs to punt, St. James regained possession with 7:25 left before halftime.

Amerson picked up a first down on the second play of the series, but a few plays later the Trojans found themselves facing a fourth-and-3 on their own 49-yard line.

The Trojans handed the ball to Amerson up the middle, but the Bulldog defensive front put the clamps down stuffed the ball carrier for no gain.

Andalusia took over with 3:17 left before halftime and got a pair of first downs from Weaver and Josh Gurley to start the drive.

The Bulldogs got the ball down the St. James 5-yard line, but the drive stalled there.

Reese Burkhardt came on and split the uprights from 24 yards away to put the Bulldogs up 9-0 with 19-8 seconds left before halftime.

To start the second half, Andalusia got a big return from Grant Holley and then a personal foul on St. James set the Bulldogs up on the 50 to start the drive.

Weaver then found green grass and raced down inside 10-yard line.

Weaver found the end zone two plays later with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Burkhardt’s extra point gave the Bulldogs a 16-0 lead early in the third period.

The Trojans then went on a 21-play drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes before they stuck one in the end zone on two-yard run from Josh Garnett.

With the two-point conversion, St. James trailed Andalusia 16-8 with 1:17 left in the third quarter.

Andalusia got things started on the next drive with a first down run from Gurley.

Weaver got the Bulldogs near midfield with a 13 yard run.

A few plays later, Wilson found Anderson for a 47-yard touchdown.

Burkhardt’s extra point gave Andalusia a 23-8 lead with 10:35 left in the game.

The Andalusia defense then forced another punt following a three-and-out from the Trojans.

Andalusia put the game on ice on the next drive when Wilson scampered 52 yards to the end zone on a read option.

Burkhardt’s extra point put the Bulldogs up 30-8 with just over five minutes left in the game.

St. James then tried to pass the ball down the field, but Anderson leaped over the Trojan receiver for the interception to put a seal on the Bulldog victory.

“The defense did an outstanding job tonight,” Andalusia head coach Trent Taylor said. “That’s a team with a 1,500 yard rusher and he wasn’t able to do that tonight. Our coaches had a great game plan and the kids did a great job with execution. One of the biggest things tonight was being able to open up the second half with a quick score. Now, we will be practicing on Thanksgiving and that’s the best feeling in the world.”

Andalusia now moves onto the third round where they will travel to Montgomery to take on Alabama Christian.