Dawgs’ rigid ‘D’ wasted
KNOXVILLE — Though holding a potent South-Doyle offense to just 248 total yards, with four sacks and nine tackles-for-loss, Bearden was stung by two big plays in the second half — and its own offensive woes.
With the Bulldogs offense gaining a mere 86 total yards, while not recording a first down in the second half, an otherwise outstanding BHS defensive effort gave way to a little fatigue late, as the Cherokees (3-1) claimed a 26-7 victory at Bearden’s Bill Young Field Friday evening, Sept. 10.
“I was really proud of how our defense played,” said BHS head coach Morgan Shinlever, whose team falls to 2-2. “But, obviously, in the fourth quarter they wore us down. Our defense was on the field probably three times as much as our offense.
“It’s going to take a toll,” he added.
“For us to have a chance to win tonight, we were going to have to move the football and manufacture points, and we just couldn’t do it.
“We just couldn’t execute.”
The Bulldogs held a 7-3 lead well into the third quarter after a blocked punt late in the first 12 minutes left BHS at the South-Doyle 1.
Senior runningback Nicco Young scored on the first offensive play after the block, with 3:01 left in the quarter.
A 70-yard touchdown pass from Cherokees quarterback Nick Martin to standout runningback Shawn Gary put SDHS up 10-7 with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter.
On Bearden’s next possession, a sideline pass went off a receiver’s fingertips and ended up a 37-yard interception TD. It was 17-7 with 10:45 to play.
Bulldogs senior linebacker Seth Arana recorded 10 solo tackles, 13 overall, with two tackles-for-loss and a sack. Eric Lyttle, junior outside linebacker, added four solo stops, six overall, with two tackles-for-loss and a sack. Young, a linebacker, also had four solo tackles, seven total, with a tackle-for-loss and sack. Sam Nicaud, junior nose guard, had five solo tackles, one sack.
“I know we’ve got a nose man in Sam Nicaud that does a lot of dirty work and doesn’t get a lot of recognition,” Shinlever said.
