Despite defensive effort, Dawgs fall to rival West
But despite a Bulldogs defense that was “playing their guts out” according to new BHS head coach Josh Jones, four turnovers, a stout Runnin’ Rebels pass rush, a handful of big pass plays and the tough yet elusive running of West’s Brayden Latham (122 yards on 19 carries) resulted in a 27-7 visitors win.
Drew Parrott, Bearden sophomore quarterback, fired a 24-yard TD pass to Sam Tummins on the last play of the first quarter, with sophomore Daniel Kinney‘s extra point tying things 7-7.
However, finishing with just 165 yards of total offense, Bearden gained just 33 of those yards in the second half.
“They just made more plays than we did,” Jones said. “We struggled blocking them. When you can get pressure with four (rushing the passer), it makes it tough … Sometimes they brought five and got to us even quicker.”
Individually on defense for the Bulldogs, “Sam Nicaud played so hard; Eric Lyttle played to the final whistle,” Jones said about a pair of standout senior linebackers. “Knockia Wynter made some plays at times,” he added about the BHS senior defensive end. “Sam Tummins, he’s just a blue-collar baller. … He’s a great player and great kid, works really hard. … What about Chaz Smith, a freshman (cornerback)? … We move Chaz over there and he gives up no catches, that’s big-time for a freshman in a big ballgame.”
“Our defense really attacked the football ...,” West head coach Lamar Brown said, adding about Latham, “Brayden’s a heck of a football player.”
… He battles every play.”
Looking ahead for Bearden, “We’ve just got a lot of stuff we gotta fix,” Jones said. “Offensively we’re a work in progress right now.”
Among the problems, “We’ve got penalty issues, and that’s on me,” Jones said. “… You’re not going to beat a well-coached team, a disciplined team like West, with penalties like that.”
How good are the Runnin’ Rebels? “Playing them five times in three years at Powell, that’s as good a team as they’ve had in the years I’ve been playing against them,” the first-year BHS head coach said.
“Defensively, they’re so good in the box,” Jones added. “And they’ve got athletes in the back end who can cover. They can really ground-and-pound you on offense.”
