The season ended a week before the Andalusia Bulldogs (12-2) would have liked, but head coach Trent Taylor said he is proud of what this team has accomplished.

“It really has been a great year,” Taylor said. “I’m so proud of all the kids for the time and effort they have put in this year.”

Taylor said that the Bulldogs have nothing to hang their heads about, but that isn’t easy at this time.

“There is no doubt that it’s tough right now,” Taylor said. “You can’t help but to sit around thinking about what you could have done differently. There are disappointments in life, and this was a big disappointment. Going back and looking at the film and you see that our kids played really well. Coaches say it all the time, but you have to tip you hat to UMS.”

One thing that helped guide the team to success was this year’s senior class, Taylor said.

“Regardless of last week, I’m still very excited for what these guys have accomplished, especially this senior class,” Taylor said. “In three years, the have played in 11 extra games. It’s been really neat to see the community getting involved and getting behind this team. The excitement that Friday night brought was just incredible.”

Taylor said that the seniors always came in with the goal of improving.

“I picked on this senior bunch a lot about not being very emotional,” Taylor said. “They didn’t get loud or anything, but they came in with a business-like attitude every time they walked into the facility. They set out to improve a little bit each day.”

The defense was an area that Taylor said he saw a lot of improvement throughout the year.

“We lost eight starters on defense last year,” Taylor said. “Coming into the season one of our biggest questions was what our defense was going to look out. Outside of the front four, none of the others had any varsity playing experience. They came into that Shades Valley game and give up 50 points, but came back out the next week and got right back after it. To see the progress these guys made, it was phenomenal.”

This year’s Andalusia team scored a school-record 539 points and made it to at least the third round of Class 4A state playoffs in each of the past three seasons.

In the past two seasons, the Bulldogs made it to the semifinals.