2nd-half Dawgs surge wears down Cleveland
CLEVELAND — Already carrying momentum into halftime with a last-second 44-yard field goal by sophomore Daniel Kinney, Bearden built on that in a big way upon taking first possession in the third quarter with a 20-17 lead at Cleveland High.
A grinding nine-minute touchdown drive, with a couple of clutch third-down receptions, signaled how the Bulldogs would take control in the second half, building a 17-point lead and winning 34-24 in a critical Region 2-6A contest Friday night, Oct. 14.
A 2-yard scoring run by sophomore quarterback Drew Parrott made it 27-17, with the third of Kinney’s eventual four conversion kicks — plus jos 28-yard field goal in the first quarter.
“Drew Parrott played really well,” BHS first-year head coach Josh Jones said, as the sophomore was 18-of-26 passing for 226 yards. “Made great decisions. Did a nice job working through progressions. ... Coach ( ) McMillan, our offensive coordinator, has done a great job with him.”
Sophomore running back Kai Ironside added three short TD runs (17 carries for 89 yards), two in the second half to put the Bulldogs up 34-17. As a team, Bearden rushed for 268 yards, with senior Presean Brown adding 22 carries for 104 yards.
“We felt like we could control the line of scrimmage. Our offensive line and our tight ends, running backs, receivers — they all did a great job,” Jones said.
As for offensive plays, the Bulldogs more than doubled the Blue Raiders: 80 versus 35.
Junior Sam Tummins, a favorite target of Parrott’s, had key catches of 19, 18 and nine yards on three scoring drives (seven catches total for 79 yards). Tory Holford had four catches for 64 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Sam Nicaud led with nine tackles, “and was all over the place,” Jones said.
Tummins also grabbed his sixth interception of the season “and had a big forced fumble,” Jones said.
