The Bulldogs jumped all the way up to 2nd Place in 5A Region 1 with a 55-13 victory over Elberta, followed by the news that Vigor had to forfeit their September 22nd win over UMS-Wright due to playing an ineligible player. The Elberta game was unquestionably the best performance of the year for UMS-Wright, as the defense forced turnovers including two pick-6's. The offense was also clicking, scoring 6 touchdowns including the Bulldog's first passing touchdown of the season.
The Bulldogs are now one game ahead of both Vigor and Faith Academy in the loss column and have the tiebreaker over the Wolves. This week's matchup against B. C. Rain will have big playoff implications, and the Raiders will come in confident after dismantling the upstart Citronelle Wildcats 47-14 on Friday night.
Region 1 Scores from 10/6
UMS-Wright 55 - Elberta 13
Faith Academy 21 - Vigor 13
Gulf Shores 24 - Williamson 13
B. C. Rain 47 - Citronelle 14
Leflore - BYE
Region 1 Standings
| TEAM |
RECORD |
| GULF SHORES |
5-0 |
| UMS-WRIGHT |
3-1 |
| VIGOR |
3-2 |
| FAITH ACADEMY |
3-2 |
| B. C. RAIN |
2-2 |
| WILLIAMSON |
2-3 |
| CITRONELLE |
1-3 |
| ELBERTA |
1-3 |
| LEFLORE |
0-4 |
Region 1 Schedule for 10/13
UMS-Wright vs B. C. Rain
Gulf Shores at Elberta
Leflore at Vigor
Williamson at Citronelle
Faith Academy - BYE
Game Recap
UMS-Wright scored a defensive touchdown on Elberta's third play of the game, and followed that with two offensive scores to lead 21-0 in the 1st quarter. The Bulldogs scored in every quarter and held the Warriors to less than 100 yards of offense in a dominating performance.
1st Quarter
Elberta received the opening kickoff and started at their own 18 yard line. On a 3rd and 13 pass play,
Perry Hand intercepted the ball in the right flat and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldogs forced a 3 and out deep in Warrior territory and started their first offensive possession at midfield.
Joe Lott scampered 47 yards on the first play and
Jake Jaye punched it in from 3 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 with only a couple of minutes coming off of the game clock.
On Elberta's next possession, the defense created another turnover when Hand's forced fumble was recovered by
C.J. Stewart on the 18 yard line. Jaye ripped off an 18 yard run on the Bulldog's first play to extend the lead to 21-0. Elberta fumbled again on their next possession with
Jeff Holston coming up with the loose ball. Starting at the 18 yard line, the Bulldog offense stalled out after a holding penalty, settling for a missed 38 yard field goal. The defense got another 3 and out, and the offense took over a their own 44.
Jaye and Lott carries picked up a first down, and a pass from Lott to
Camden Taylor was called back on a holding penalty. Facing a 3rd and 20, Lott rushed for 18 yards on a QB draw, and Jaye converted the ensuing 4th and 2. The quarter ended with the Bulldogs in the middle of a promising drive.
End 1st Quarter
UMS-W 21
Elberta 0
2nd Quarter
The Bulldogs drive continued into the 2nd quarter, and Lott connected with
Camden Taylor for an 8 yard completion. Jaye picked up a first down on a 10 yard run, and Lott finished the drive with a 5 yard TD run.
Elberta started at their own 26 and were quickly behind the chains after an intentional grounding penalty. The Bulldog defense held again forcing a 3 and out punt. A short Bulldog drive ended with a blocked punt that Elberta returned to the 36 yard line for their best field position of the night. 3 plays later, Lott intercepted a pass and returned it 71 yards for the Bulldogs' second pick-6 in the first half.
On Elberta's final possession of the half, the Warriors put together a multi-play drive and scored on a 9 yard touchdown run for their only points of the first half.
Halftime
UMS-W 35
Elberta 7
3rd Quarter
Starting at their own 27, the Bulldogs turned to the ground game to open the half and
Jake Jaye picked up 59 yards on 4 carries.
Denton Elliott also had a 20 yard run on the drive. Will Taylor finished it off with a 1 yard TD run. Elberta's drive ended on 3rd and 10 when
James Scott picked off a pass for the Bulldogs' third interception of the night.
Working with a short field,
James Hollon picked up a first down on 3rd and 2. Two plays later, Lott found
Ty Yance in the end zone for a 25 yard touchdown completion.
End 3rd Quarter
UMS-W 49
Elberta 7
4th Quarter
McNeil Mostellar recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs' 6th turnover of the game, and
Max Fowler scored from 3 yards out on 3rd and Goal.
The defense forced another 3 and out, but UMS-Wright muffed the punt to give the Warriors a final possession. They scored a few plays later for the final points of the game.
Final
UMS-W 55
Elberta 13
Plays of the Game
Defense:
Joe Lott's 71 yard Pick-6 electrified the crowd as he raced up the right sideline then put a move on Elberta's last chance to stop him, cutting inside and into the end zone. It was the second of three interceptions on the night for the Bulldog defense.
Offense:
Joe Lott hit
Ty Yance for a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter; the first passing touchdown of the season for the Bulldogs
Team Totals
Total Plays
UMS-W 43
Elberta 45
Total Yards
UMS-W 281
Elberta 76
Rushing Yards
UMS-W 226
Elberta 43
Passing Yards
UMS-W 55
Elberta 33
First Downs
UMS-W 13
Elberta 6
Third Downs
UMS-W 2-5 (40%)
Elberta 2-9 (22%)
Turnovers
UMS-W 1
Elberta 6
Penalties
UMS-W 8 for 80 yards
Elberta 4 for 20 yards
Stat Leaders
Rushing
Jake Jaye: 12 Carries - 112 yds - 2TD
Joe Lott: 7 Carries - 66 yds - TD
James Hollon: 5 Carries - 28 yds
Passing
Joe Lott: 6 for 11 - 49 yds - TD - INT
Haas Harville: 1 for 1 - 6 yds
Receiving
Ty Yance: 2 receptions - 29 yds - TD
William Taylor: 2 receptions - 13 yds
Defense
Caplyn Reed: 9 tackles - TFL
Perry Hand: 5 tackles - TFL - INT (TD)
McNeil Mostellar: 5 tackles - TFL - Fumble Recovery
Jeff Holston: 5 tackles - Fumble Recovery
Special Teams
Kingston Phan: 7 for 7 PATs / 0 for 1 Field Goals
From the Coaches
Coach Dean on the Offense:
It was great to see us, as a whole team, come out and play with great energy and emotion. We used the bye week to focus on the little things, and not just fundamentals. One of the main things we focused on was playing the game with emotion, and I think we did that Friday night. We still made some mental mistakes, but with the energy we were playing with, that made up for it. We scored 2 touchdowns within the first 3 plays from scrimmage. Joe Lott looked a lot more comfortable at QB, and when protection broke down, he balanced pulling it down and running, while moving in the pocket and still finding guys downfield. It was good to see Jake Jaye and James Hollon run the ball with authority. Ty Yance played with more physicality than we have seen in a while from him, and he allowed us to make some plays running right behind him, and he also had a big catch in the back of the endzone. I was proud of the effort up front as well. Pierce Dean continues to grow into the center position. Hayden Breal moved to guard during the off week, and did a nice job as well. Liston Peterson and Jack Otts played well also. Each game moving forward will directly affect the playoffs, so each game is extremely important that we keep getting better and find ways to win.
Coach Koziol on the Defense:
Friday night at Cooper Stadium was a lot of fun. We challenged our players during the bye week to play with more energy and enthusiasm - and did they ever respond! The defense created a season high 6 takeaways and also blocked a kick (David Lott). Perry Hand returned the 3rd play from scrimmage for a pick-6 to get the scoring started. Jeff Holston, C.J. Stewart and McNeil Mostellar all had fumble recoveries. Joe Lott had a beautiful 71-yard interception return for a TD and James Scott came up with his first interception of the season.
We've worked these guys extremely hard these past 2 weeks, and they played their best game of the season so far. It's definitely positive and encouraging to see them have fun like they did. We need to keep building on this momentum and finish the regular season out strong. I'm very proud of how they all played.
Next Up:
The Bulldogs host B. C. Rain for Homecoming this Friday night at Cooper Stadium.
