Jo Byrns Slips Past Bulldogs
Last Friday night was a perfect night for football as the Jo Byrns Red Devils captured a district win over the Red Boiling Springs Bulldogs by a final score of 20-8.
Once again the game was decided by a controversial call very late in the game.
The Bulldogs came out of the gate ready to play and with a game plan that Head Coach Michael Brown and his staff had installed during the by-week and the Bulldogs stayed the course and came oh so close to winning.
With the Red Devils in a re-building year the Bulldogs plan was to run the ball using Justin Bergdorff and Lee Pruitt while mixing in some outside runs by Elijah Byfield and Jordan Powell. The Bulldogs moved the ball down to the Red Devils 4 yard line and Lee Pruitt took a pitch out from Bulldog quarterback Hunter Kirk and on second and goal Pruitte navigated the final 4 yards and the Bulldogs were on the scoreboard all tied up 6 all. The Bulldogs decided to go for 2 on the conversion and behind a whole host of blockers. Justin Bergdorff carried the pigskin into the end zone giving the Bulldogs a 8-6 lead. Although both teams had mild scoring threats the first half found the Bulldogs nursing that 8-6 lead. The game plan had worked to perfection.
The Bulldog defensive game plan was working very well thanks to the play of tackle Billy York who had 12 solo tackles plus Justin Bergdorff with 8 tackles while Lee Pruitte had 6 tackles. Joaquin Mejia had 5 solo tackles and 2 assists. Trevor Carter and 10 tackles between them. Another very bright defensive star was Hunter Kirk who was credited with 3 interceptions and almost added 2 more. The fans from both schools were excited about the first half and were ready for the second half.
The 3rd quarter saw both teams march up and down and a lot of punting(the Bulldogs punted seven times and the Red Devils punted 8 times) and we go to the fourth quarter with the Bulldogs still clinging to their 8-6 lead and with about 4 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs punted and the Red Devil player that was back to receive the punt fumbled the punt and the Bulldogs fell on the ball at about the midfield. The side judge threw a flag way back where the ball was punted from after a penalty was marked off against the Bulldogs. The Red Devils caught the punt and then promptly threw a 56 yard touchdown pass to give the Red Devils their 12th point of the game and the 2 pt conversion was good.
The fans from Red Boiling Springs were livid because all of this happened right in front of them. The Red Devils picked off a final desperation pass for a pick 6 and your final score of 20-8.
What a crazy ending to what had been a great game until the last 4 minutes. Next week will be Homecoming 2016 and we will be inducting three new members into the Red Boiling Springs Football Hall of Fame. Come out and support Red Boiling Springs Football next Friday night.
Photo by Tina Atkins
