The Winder-Barrow High School football team had hoped to get into the win column Friday night at Loganville, but the host Red Devils were looking for a first of their own.
LHS took a 28-14 win, the first of 2012 for the Red Devils, who now stands at 2-5 overall and 1-4 in Region 8-AAAAA. For WBHS, the first victory of 2012 will have to wait another week as the Bulldoggs are now 0-7 overall and 0-5 in region play. WBHS has not registered a win since the 2009 season.
“This was a great win for us because we were so close the past two weeks,” said LHS coach Eric Godree. “We’re still turning the ball over too much and that’s frustrating. But our kids handled it well, ran the ball well and threw the ball well. We’ll take a win any day of the week.”
The Bulldoggs took the first series of the game, but had to punt after three plays.
LHS in turn would turn the football over on downs during its first offensive series of the game. A chop block penalty hurt what looked like a promising drive.
After WBHS was forced to go three and out on its second series, the Red Devils put the first points on the board on a 42-yard run by Brandon Beck. The extra point attempt failed to leave the score at 6-0 at the 5:03 mark of the first quarter.
Chad Platt returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards. but a penalty would bring the play back. The Bulldoggs, who were called for 16 penalties in the game, would have to punt after starting at its own 18-yard line once the return by Platt was called back.
LHS would move in front 14-0 on a 7-yard run by Bernard Merriweather with 40 seconds remaining in the opening 12 minutes.
Winder-Barrow turned the football over on downs on its next offensive possession when a fake punt attempt failed. However, Tyree Tanner would recover a Loganville fumble to set up the Bulldoggs’ first score of the night.
After Platt had a run from the WBHS 26 to the LHS 23, the Bulldoggs would later cap the drive on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Christian Hodge.
LHS quarterback Royce Harrison hooked up with Davante Belk for a 31-yard touchdown to answer the score by WBHS. The Red Devils would take the two-touchdown lead into halftime.
In the second half, Merriweather pushed the LHS lead to 28-7 on a 3-yard run with 2:23 left in the third quarter.
Platt kept the Bulldoggs in the game on a 64-yard run, but WBHS would get no closer.
Loganville had chances for additional scores but fumbled the football away after getting a first and goal at the Bulldogg 9-yard line. The Red Devils then turned the football over on downs after a failed fourth and goal from the four.
“We missed some scoring opportunities,” Godfree said. “We’ll have to work on that the next few weeks if we want to have a chance. We’re glad to get this win, however. We knew Winder-Barrow would be hungry for a win and we’ve struggled some this season. Any region win is a good one.”
