Trailing 19-13, the Winder-Barrow High School football team was driving for what could have been the tying or even go-ahead points in the fourth quarter against region foe Cedar Shoals last Friday.
Suddenly, that opportunity, as well as the game, was ripped from the Bulldoggs’ hands. Cedar Shoals would take advantage and bust open what had been a game with the outcome in doubt and take a 39-13 win.
The loss was another frustrating one for WBHS coach Ben Corley, whose team is now 0-2 for the season, both overall and in Region 8-AAAA.
“If we take care of the football, then we played well enough to win,” Corley said. “We put it on the ground too many times. Whatever momentum you have is taken away when you do that.”
Trailing 19-7 at halftime, the Bulldoggs pulled to within 19-13 on a two-yard keeper from quarterback Christian Davila with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
After Cedar Shoals turned the football over on downs inside WBHS territory, Corley’s team took possession and began moving the football for what appeared to be a drive which could have set a tone for the rest of the season.
Taking over at their own 28, the Bulldoggs marched inside Jaguar territory but the momentum was killed on a snap over Davila’s head which resulted in a loss of 15 yards. A lost fumble would eventually end the drive and any chance WBHS may have had.
“As things played out, we were surging,” Corley said. “However, the turnovers just killed us. We weren’t able to keep them out late and that made the score appear to be not much of a contest. I thought we played pretty well. Christian has us rallying and he was able to keep them off balance. We were changing our tempo a little bit.”
Neither team managed any points in their first series of the contest. WBHS struck first on a 3-yard run from Jonathon Hall with 4:47 left in the opening quarter. Randy Leighton’s point after kick gave the Bulldoggs a 7-0 lead.
The Jaguars would answer on their third series of the first half on a 15-yard touchdown run. The point after attempt failed to leave the score at 7-6.
Cedar Shoals took its first lead with 1:27 left in the first on a 47-yard touchdown pass. A 51-yard scoring strike with 5:59 left in the first half gave the Jaguars a 19-7 lead at intermission.
While pleased with his team’s performance in some areas, Corley is not satisfied with just competing into the fourth quarter.
“We are not looking for moral victories,” he said. “We’ve been in position to win two in a row and we have to find a way to be able to finish games off.”
The Bulldoggs will look to get on track this Friday when they host region foe Heritage at 7:30 p.m. at W. Clair Harris Stadium.
