With 52 seconds left in the game, the Andalusia Bulldogs (1-8, 1-6 in Class 4A, Region 1) went 44 yards down the field to the 5-yard line and senior quarterback Brent Shiver snuck in for a touchdown to give a fighting finish on a 32-14 loss to UMS-Wright (7-2, 6-1).

Andalusia plays Opp next week and head coach Brian Seymore said the team will be prepared to play.

“Our kids will be ready, there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll be ready for Opp,” Seymore said. “That’s a huge game for them. They’re disappointed tonight because we talked about it all week. It’s the same story, but a different night. You can’t turn the ball over that many times against UMS-Wright.”

In the first half, Andalusia had three turnovers.

Andalusia’s defense played with intensity Friday night, forcing UMS-Wright to punt five times.

“The defensive line I thought did a great job against their running game,” Seymore said. “They have a good tailback, he’s a great cut back runner. He popped a couple big plays on us, but the big plays have gotten us all year long. To be successful, we’ve got to eliminate the big plays on turnovers.”

Andalusia’s first touchdown came in the first quarter as UMS senior quarterback Bragg Foshee threw an interception into the hands of junior O’Brien Curry who ran it back for a 45 yards for the score.

UMS quickly scored with 4:49 left in the first as sophomore running back Chris Dukes carried the ball 5 yards to tie the game.

UMS then scored on a first-and-5 play in the second quarter as Foshee threw the ball to senior wide receiver Brock Reaves for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good.

With 5:04 left in the half, UMS scored again as Dukes carried the ball 25 yards for the score and it was 19-7.

UMS wasn’t done in the half as Foshee threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Chase Williamson with 19.2 seconds left to make it 26-7.

UMS scored its last touchdown of the night in the third quarter when Dukes ran for a 17-yard score with 8:39 left.

Seymore said in order for Andalusia to win some games, they need to do the little things correctly.

“You think about all the times they scored and it’s the result on big plays on turnovers,” he said. “It’s just something we have to limit. If we want to be a successful team for the rest of this year and the future, we’ve got to do the little things right.”

Seymore said the team will be working on getting ready for Opp next week at practice and sewing up loose ties on their option scheme.

“You would think running the option we would be in the mesh between the quarterback and the running backs,” Seymore said. “It’s not the mesh, it’s an open field. It’s just our ball security and it’s things you work on a lot you seem it shouldn’t be a recurring thing. I guess that’s the one negative about running option football. We have to do a better job of securing the football.”

In the first half, Shiver was 1-of-8 for 6 yards in passing. The leading rusher was C.J. Richardson, who carried the ball 10 times for 42 yards and fumbled once.

In the second half, Andalusia was 2-for-2 for 25 yards in passing and carried the ball 26 times for 157 yards.

Andalusia will host Opp next week. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.