Dogs drop a thriller

Robert Bridges, Democrat Reporter

September 19, 2006 04:40 pm

— It looked like last week all over again. Trailing 14-0, the Bulldogs battled back fiercely Friday night at Langford, only to come up short in the end. That’s what happened Sept. 8 against Gainesville High. But this time the opponent was a championship-caliber team — 2A powerhouse Madison County — and the Dogs played their best ball of the year. Final score: Madison 20, Suwannee 14.
“In the second half y’all played like a football team,” Suwannee head coach Bobby Bennett told his boys after the game. “I know you’re as good as they are. Now start playing like a championship team.”
Said Madison head coach Frankie Carroll, “They just whipped our butts in the second half.”
Suwannee’s Jarrett Yulee led all rushers with 121 yards on 25 carries. Brandon Allen added 32 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Quarterback Tajhuane Roundtree, returning from a shoulder injury, had 46 yards rushing and completed three of six passes for 83 yards and a score. Kenny Clayton caught two Roundtree passes for 73 yards and Gabe Galloway had one catch for 10 yards and a touchdown.
The leading tacklers for the Bulldogs were Stephen Cherry with 11, Justin Starling with 10 and Wallace Smith with eight.
The Sports Connection/WQHL player of the game, as selected by WQHL radio, was Jarrett Yulee.
The Cowboys were nearly unstoppable on offense, with 289 yards on the ground and 91 in the air.
Things looked bad for the Bulldogs early on. The Dogs went four-and-out on their first possession only to have the Cowboys block a punt and take possession at the Suwannee 43. Five plays later Madison’s all-purpose superstar Bernard Brinson scored on a 31-yard pass from Blake Sapp to make it 7-0 at 4:24 of the first quarter. Brinson had been seen as the biggest threat on a team full of talent. However, an ankle injury sidelined him just before the half and the threat never fully materialized.
After another Bulldog punt, the Cowboys drove to the Suwannee 30 before Marcus Walker’s sack of quarterback Sapp ended the scoring threat.
Then came what could have been the backbreaker: a five-play, 97 yard drive to put the Cowboys up 14-0 with three minutes left in the half. The key play was a 63-yard run by Chris Thompson to the Suwannee 30. Harry Reddick scored on a six-yard burst up the middle.
In the same position last week against Gainesville, the Bulldogs rallied to score with 11 seconds left in the half. It looked as if they might do it again. Jason Cherry returned the punt to the Suwannee 23. Four straight running plays put the Bulldogs at the 37. Then Kenny Clayton gave the crowd something to get excited about. Hauling in a Roundtree pass at midfield, he streaked down the right sideline then cut back inside, ducking and dodging his way to the Madison eight. The drive ended when a scrambling Roundtree was sacked at the Madison 23 as time expired.
The home crowd had been quieted, but they were about to really come alive. The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 17-play, eight minute-plus scoring drive that brought the Suwannee faithful to their feet. Jarrett Yulee was the workhorse this time, rushing for 55 of the Bulldogs’ 70 yards on nine carries.
Yulee took the kick-off at the Suwannee eight and returned it to the 30. His first carry of the drive came on third and 10, a 13-yard gain to the Suwannee 43. Four more Yulee runs got the Bulldogs to the Madison 37, where they faced third and one. Roundtree was stopped short on a keeper, but picked up the first down on a fourth-and-one quarterback sneak.
Then Yulee went back to work. Four more runs put the Bulldogs at the Madison 15. Four plays later, Roundtree hit Galloway at the goal line for the score at 3:12 of the third. The kick failed on a bad snap, and Suwannee trailed 14-6.
The Dogs had proven they could run on the Cowboys, but now they had to show they could slow the Madison ground attack.
A personal foul against the Bulldogs on the kick-off gave the Cowboys a first down at the Suwannee 40. On second and 10, Madison’s Thompson, who had 112 yards on the night, gained 24 to the Suwannee 16. But Thompson fumbled on the next play and Bulldog linebacker Justin Starling recovered at the Suwannee 10.
This time the Bulldogs went 90 yards in 13 plays. And once again Yulee did most of the work. Yulee’s 60 yards on 11 carries took the Dogs to the Madison 22, where Brandon Allen took over. Roundtree faked the handoff to Yulee then gave the ball to Allen, who sprinted around the right end for the score. Allen then bulled up the middle for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 8:51 remaining.
The Dogs were dominating on the ground, but still had to prove they could stop the Cowboys’ offense. They couldn’t.
Starting from their own 15 Madison made it look easy, scoring in six plays. The key was a 45-yard run by Reddick, who had 110 yards on the night, to the Bulldog nine. Patrick Brown saved the touchdown, but it was a temporary reprieve. Two plays later Jordan Johnson scored from the seven on a run up the middle at the 6:42 mark. The Cowboys led 20-14.
A penalty pushed the Cowboys out of kicking range and the two-point try failed. Now the Dogs had a shot not just to tie, but to win.
The Bulldogs took over on their own 36. Roundtree gained 24 to the Madison 40 on first down. Then Yulee re-entered the picture. Three straight runs put the ball at the Madison 27. Then a face mask penalty gave the Bulldogs a first down at the 11. Allen gained one to the 10, and two Yulee runs took it to the three. Now it was fourth-and-two. And Yulee, felled by cramps, was taken out.
The Dogs ran left, but Roundtree, under heavy pressure, was stripped of the ball at the nine, ending the Suwannee threat at the 3:36 mark.
The Dogs still had a shot, but only if the defense could hold. It did – or so it seemed. Facing fourth and one at their own 18, the Cowboys lined up as if they were going for it, apparently trying to pull the Bulldogs offside. The Dogs didn’t bite. But after a Madison timeout, the Cowboys came out with the same formation. With 1:38 remaining and a six point lead, Madison coach Frankie Carroll went for it on fourth down at his own 18. And got it.
“I bet you all thought we were crazy,” he said after the game. “But they hadn’t stopped ‘em all night.”
The Cowboys took a knee to end the game.
Bennett had praise for his team after the game. “The whole team played great,” he said. Then he noticed Roundtree, clearly disappointed with his play on the final drive. “You played great the whole game,” Bennett told him. “One play doesn’t make a game.”
A Suwannee upset might have been seen as some measure of vengeance for the Bulldogs’ 34-0 season-opening loss to Columbia County Aug. 25. Madison defeated the Tigers 31-21 last week.
The Bulldogs trailed Gainesville High 14-0 last week before scoring twice to pull within one. Down 21-13 in the fourth, the Dogs had a shot to send the game into overtime, but a late drive stalled at the Gainesville 37.
The Bulldogs are off next week. The Dogs’ next game is their District 3-3A opener against Raines in Jacksonville Sept. 29. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.