Dogs dump Baker

Robert Bridges, Democrat Reporter

October 17, 2006 04:34 pm

— These are the Bulldogs we’ve been waiting for. A solid ground game, good defense and just a hint of a swagger. The Dogs dominated the Baker County Wildcats Friday at Langford, winning 21-6 and keeping their play-off hopes alive in the process. Suwannee is 2-5 overall but improves to 1-1 in District 3-3A. Baker (4-4 overall, 0-3 in the district) effectively falls out of play-off contention.
“They played great,” Suwannee Head Coach Bobby Bennett said of his boys. The Dogs did an especially good job of containing Baker quarterback Carlos Horton, a threat to run or pass. “That quarterback is some kind of explosive,” Bennett said. “He creates a lot of stress for defenses.” The Dogs held Horton to 38 yards passing and 106 yards rushing. He’s hurt many teams much worse this season.
Baker coach Bobby Johns saw things differently. “We knew they were better than their record,” he said, “but we gave the game away.” He was referring to three lost Baker fumbles, two deep in Suwannee territory, one on the Baker 23. The latter led to a Suwannee score. Baker had a problem holding on to the ball against Raines as well, losing four fumbles. But here the Suwannee hitting may have been the difference.
The Dogs held running backs Lucious Lee to 53 yards on 13 carries and Chaz Johns to 32 yards on eight carries.
On offense, Bulldog quarterback Tajhuane Roundtree was four of eight for 83 yards and a touchdown. Roundtree ran for 35 yards and two more scores. Brandon Allen gained 64 yards for the Dogs on 10 carries and Jarrett Yulee had 19 yards on six carries.
Kenny Clayton had two receptions for 39 yards, Jason Cherry one for 39 yards. Gabe Galloway had one catch for five yards and a touchdown.
The leading tacklers for the Bulldogs were Justin Starling with 17 (see related story, page 1B) and Lee Laxton with 15.
The Sports Connection/WQHL players of the game, as selected by WQHL radio, were Roundtree, offensive lineman Justin VanEtta and linebacker Lee Laxton.
Early on it looked as if the Dogs were off to another rocky start. On their second possession the Wildcats marched 90 yards on 17 plays for a 6-0 lead. Chaz Johns scored on a four-yard burst up the middle at 9:20 of the second quarter. Baker’s kicking game is less than reliable, so the Cats went for two but came up short.
Suwannee came back strong after the kick-off. The Dogs took over on their own 33 and scored six plays later. The key play was a 39-yard Roundtree pass to Jason Cherry, taking the Dogs to the Baker 13. Roundtree scored on the next play with a beautiful fake to a back. He went in untouched. The Cullen Boggus kick made it 7-6 Suwannee at 6:29 of the second. The Bulldogs were just warming up.
On the third play of Baker’s next possession, quarterback Horton rolled left under pressure from Laxton and into the path of lineman Edwanyte Jones. Jones knocked the ball loose and Octavious Granville recovered at the Baker 20.
Roundtree connected with Clayton at the Baker six, then dove into the end zone on a keeper at the 4:36 mark to make it 14-6 after the kick.
The Wildcats went right back to work. Starting from their own 32 they drove steadily downfield, reaching the Suwannee 33 with 55 seconds left in the half. A Horton pass to Jamar Farmer gave the Cats a second-and-one at the Bulldog 24 with 32 seconds left. After two incomplete passes, the Wildcats faced fourth-and-one. Horton fumbled a high snap from the shotgun formation, and Suwannee took over on downs. Roundtree took a knee to kill the clock.
Baker got another chance to score early in the third. Two plays into the second half the Wildcats recovered a Yulee fumble at the Suwannee 34. A personal foul against the Dogs put the ball at the Bulldogs’ 13. But lineman Larry Allen recovered a Baker fumble at the Suwannee nine to end the threat.
Suwannee went four-and-out on its next possession and the Wildcats took over at their own 49. Soon they were threatening again. On first and 10 from the Suwannee 24 Horton ran to the five, but an illegal block negated the gain. An illegal procedure call on the next play put the ball back at the Suwannee 29. On third and 10 from the 24, Laxton batted down a Horton pass, and on fourth and 10, Jason Cherry and Patrick Brown broke up another Horton pass in the end zone. The teams traded punts, then the Dogs got rolling again. Suwannee took over on downs at the Baker 40 early in the fourth. Runs by Allen and Yulee took the Dogs to the Baker 32. The Wildcats were clearly beginning to tire. Allen broke through the Baker line and gave the Dogs a first-and-goal from the four. Gabe Galloway made a great one-handed catch of a Roundtree pass for the score.
The pass was almost beyond Galloway’s grasp, but Galloway called it “perfect.” “If he’d thrown it any more inside it would’ve been picked off,” he said. The offensive line deserved credit for giving Roundtree plenty of time to throw, he noted.
Baker’s last drive was just for pride. Stephen Cherry downed a Suwannee punt just shy of the end zone, and the Wildcats began from inside their own one. Baker drove to the Suwannee 35 in 14 plays before time expired.
After the game, Bennett credited his team’s mental toughness. “It’s hard to come back from that kind of loss,” he said, referring to last week’s 57-7 disaster against Trinity Catholic. “You doubt yourself.” But the Bulldogs shook off any lingering effects of the loss, just as Bennett had told them they must. Now they’ve got a legitimate shot at the postseason. But first they have to beat Bishop Kenny Friday at Langford. Stay tuned.
Robert Bridges can be reached by calling 386-362-1734ext. 134 or by e-mail at robert.bridges@gaflnews.com

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