Region 1 Scores from Week 1

UMS-Wright 3 - St. Paul's 10 (OT)

Citronelle 28 - Millry 25

Vigor 38 - Blount 6

Williamson 52 - B. T. Washington 0

B.C. Rain 14 - Hillcrest-Evergreen 16

Elberta 21 - Orange Beach 27

Leflore 20 - Fairfield 21

Faith Academy - OPEN

Game Recap

The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at St. Paul's 10-3 in overtime.  After taking a 3-0 lead into halftime, UMS-Wright gave up the equalizing field goal as time expired in the 4th quarter.  The Saints scored on their opening possession of overtime, and the Bulldogs couldn't find the end zone to force another overtime.  The Defense played an outstanding game, holding St. Paul's to only 3 points through 4 quarters of play.  The Offense showed promise as sophomore QB Max Fowler looked poised and confident, connecting with 6 different receivers on 7 completions.  Special teams gave the team a field goal after a productive 2-minute drill to end the first half along with a 50 yard return of the 2nd half kickoff. 

1st Quarter

St. Paul's received the opening kickoff and quickly picked up 2 first downs an 8 yard completion and a 10 yard run.  The Bulldogs jumped off sides on a 3rd and 2 to give them another first down, but the Saints couldn't connect on a 3rd and 10 pass attempt well covered by Charlie Jeffery and John Morgan Davidson.  

The Bulldogs went 3 and out on their first possession after giving up a sack on 3rd and 11.

The Saints followed with a 3 and out of their own as John Morgan Davidson sacked the Saints QB on 2nd down, and Jeff Holston batted a 3rd and 10 pass away.

UMS-Wright started at their own 5 yard line, picked up a first down before punting in back to the Saints.
 

End 1^st Quarter

UMS-W    0

St. Paul's  0

2^nd Quarter

The Saints picked up a first down, but couldn't extend the drive an punted it back to UMS-Wright.

Starting on their own 11 yard line, Max Fowler hit Bo Wills for a 7 yard gain.  A fumble deep in Bulldog territory on 3rd and 2 looked to be recovered by St. Paul's, but UMS-Wright averted disaster as Jack Blackerby wrestled the ball away before to prevent the turnover.

The Saints and Bulldogs traded 3 and outs before St. Paul's connected on a 38 yard completion behind a busted assignment. On the next play from scrimmage, David Lott slashed in front of a Saints receiver to intercept a pass at the goalline and keep the Saints off the scoreboard.

Fowler completed a first down pass to Denton Elliott for 9 yards, but the Bulldogs punted it away 3 plays later.

The Bulldog defense forced another 3 and out, and the offense began their 2 minute drill with an 18 yard completion from Fowler to Wills.  Facing 4th and 10, a 16 yard completion to Perry Hand on a middle screen kept the drive alive and set up Kingston Phan's 37 yard field goal to end the first half.

Halftime

UMS-W    3

St. Paul's 0

3^rd Quarter

Neither team scored in a quick 3rd quarter that began with a 50 yard return by Denton Elliott on the opening kickoff.  UMS-Wright couldn't capitalize on good field position and punted it after 3 plays.  

St. Paul's put together a sustained drive picking up 3 consecutive 3rd down conversions.  On 3rd and 13, Caplyn Reed's sack killed the drive and the Saints punted.

The Bulldogs picked up a couple of first downs, highlighted by an 11 yard Denton Elliott run on a sweep play.  UMS-W couldn't convert on a 3rd an 20 and punted it back to St. Paul's.

End 3rd Quarter 

UMS-W    3

St. Paul's 0

4th Quarter

David Lott broke up a long pass attempt over the middle to prevent a 3rd and 11 conversion for St. Paul's.

Fowler picked up 6 yards on the ground for a Bulldogs first down, but couldn't connect with Bo Wills on a 3rd and 15 two plays later.

St. Paul's would use all 3 of their time outs to stop the clock on the Bulldogs final possession in regulation.  Bo Wills picked up 8 yards on 1st down, but a 2nd down penalty forced a 3rd and 7.  Fowler hit Jack Blackerby over the middle, but a fumbled exchange on 2nd and 8 put the Bulldogs behind the chains.

A short punt gave the Saints the ball at the Bulldog 42, and they quickly moved the ball inside the 20 and kicked a 33 yard field goal as the final seconds ran off the clock.

End of 4th Quarter

UMS-W    3

St. Paul's  3

OT

St. Paul's got the ball first and scored the game's only touchdown on a 15 yard run.

For the Bulldogs, two incompletions on 2nd and 3rd downs set up a 4th and 11.  Max Fowler scrambled to the 5 yard line where the Saints tackled him to end the game.

Final

UMS-W 3

St. Paul's 10

Plays of the Game

Offense: Fowler's completions to Bo Wills for 18 yards and Perry Hand for 16 yards late in the 2nd quarter set up Phan's go ahead field goal to end the first half

Defense: After giving up a 38 yard completion to the Bulldog 5 yard line in the 2nd quarter, the defense stood strong and David Lott's interception at the goal line kept the Saints scoreless in the first half.

Team Totals

Total Plays

UMS-W 55

St. Paul's 64

Total Yards

UMS-W 128

St. Paul's 186

Rushing Yards

UMS-W 63

St. Paul's 104

Passing Yards

UMS-W 65

St. Paul's 82

First Downs

UMS-W 6

St. Paul's 12

Third Downs

UMS-W 2-14 (14%)

St. Paul's 8-16 (50%)

Turnovers

UMS-W 0

St. Paul's 1

Penalties

UMS-W 5 for 30 yards

St. Paul's 7 for 42 yards

Stat Leaders

Rushing

Bo Wills: 9 Carries - 43 yds

Denton Elliott: 5 Carries - 21 yds

Perry Hand: 6 Carries - 5 yds

Passing

Max Fowler: 7 for 22 - 65 yds

Receiving

Bo Wills: 2 receptions - 25 yds

Perry Hand: 1 reception - 16 yds

Jack Blackerby: 1 reception - 10 yds

Denton Elliott - 1 Reception - 9 yds

Camden Taylor - 1 Reception - 5 yds

Defense

Jeff Holston: 11 tackles - Sack

Caplyn Reed: 7 tackles - Sack

Mac McGinley: 5 tackles - Sack

John Morgan Davidson: 4 tackles - Sack

David Lott: 3 tackles - INT

Andrew Cook, Johnny Megginson, Luke Phillips: 4 tackles each

Special Teams

Kingston Phan: 1 for 1 FG (

Bud Urquhart: 29 yd punting average - Long 41

From the Coaches

Coach Dean on the Offense: 

Friday night was a night of highs and lows. I thought our kids played hard, we just didn't play well enough to get the win. We are young in key spots, especially on the offensive line, and that showed at times Friday night. We will get back to work this week on correcting mistakes, and as long as the kids keep giving great effort in practice and preparation, we will be fine. We have another challenge this week against Leflore, so we will see how much we improve from week 1 to week 2. 

Coach Koziol on the Defense:

Friday night's loss was nothing more than heartbreaking.   Our team battled until the end and unfortunately we came up a few seconds short.  I feel like we had several players leave it all on the field Friday night, and as a Coach, that's all you can ask of them.   I was proud of our entire Defense all night long.  They were undersized in just about every position, but that doesn't seem to bother them. They played with great technique, leverage and effort, to overcome any size difference.  The guys ran to the ball extremely well and we were sound in our run fits.   We handled all their shifts and motions as we were in midseason form.  There are many positives to build on, however we must keep improving.  We will watch the film together, learn from it, and move forward.  There is a long road still in front of us and we have work to do as we prepare for our Region schedule.   

Next Up: Region 1 Opener vs Leflore - Friday, August 30th - 7:00 PM Cooper Stadium