The Loganville High School football team won the Region 8-AAAA title Friday night at W. Clair Harris Stadium, but the Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs made them earn it.
The visiting Red Devils took a 19-7 win in a steady rain which moved into the area before kickoff and fell throughout the contest. The rain hampered both teams offensively, but the defense shined for both squads.
Winder-Barrow, which finished the season 1-9, played well against the region champs and was still in the game well into the second half, something first-year head coach Ben Corley was glad to see from his young squad.
“We played well defensively,” Corley said. “The conditions helped us and it limited Loganville’s passing game. They were probably concerned about the weather and didn’t throw it as much. Instead they just decided to pound it. However, we rose up and kept them out of the endzone for the most part.”
Once again, however, missed opportunities would hurt the Bulldoggs in their bid for an upset in their final game of 2008. It was a story with a familiar ring to it for Corley.
“We had some chances,” Corley said. “We needed to capitalize on them.”
The WBHS defense forced Loganville to punt the football on its first possession of the game. The Bulldoggs were unable to move, however, and had the punt as well.
The Red Devils put the first points of the game on the board on an eight-play, 74-yard drive capped by a fumble recovery in the endzone with 3:15 left in the first quarter.
LHS (9-1) moved in front 13-0 on a 29-yard run with 9:15 left in the first half.
The best drives for Winder-Barrow came on its fourth and fifth series.
The fourth possession started at the Bulldogg 41-yard line and included seven plays and two first downs before a fumble after a pass completion resulted in the Red Devils regaining possession.
The fifth possession of the half for WBHS included two first downs but ended with a punt on fourth and fifth.
With the outcome still in doubt, LHS added a 39-yard score with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldoggs’ touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Greg Dixon with 6.7 seconds left.
See next week’s edition of the Barrow Journal for a look at Winder-Barrow’s offseason plans as the countdown to 2009 begins.
