Injuries plagued both Addison and Falkville, but it was the visiting Bulldogs who had enough depth to overcome them, as Addison defeated No. 8 Falkville 42-7 Friday night at Burl Vest Stadium.

The injuries left Falkville without its two best players, senior running back Devin Reed who had a career-ending collarbone fracture and sophomore quarterback Ryan Sullivan who suffered a shoulder injury.

“Devin knew it right as soon as it happened,” head coach Joel Schrenk said. “He knew he broke his collarbone and, sure enough, it was broken.

“Ryan tried to gut it out, but we knew something was wrong. It took us a little bit of time, but we finally figured out what happened. He gave us everything he had. He’s a great kid and has a great attitude.”

The two accounted for most of Falkville’s offense through the first two games, leaving Schrenk scrambling to find someone to replace them. However, Addison also lost its starting quarterback and running back to injuries early in the game.

“It’s always a physical game when we play Addison,” Schrenk said. “Both teams faced a lot of adversity. They just handled it a little bit better than we did.

“This was a great lesson for our backups – you’re always one play away from going in there. You have to be ready.”

Schrenk said he expected that Sullivan may not play in next week’s game at Cold Springs, which lost to No. 3 Tanner Friday night.

Reed had battled back from ACL and MCL surgery last November following the football season. Schrenk said he was even playing with another partial tear that happened this summer.

“You just hate it for a kid like him who did a great job of rehabbing to get back for his senior season and then this happens,” Schrenk said.

Both teams had opportunities in the first quarter, but neither could score. Addison missed a 37-yard field goal on its opening possession while Falkville fumbled the ball away as it was driving on its first possession.

The lone bright spot of the night came from Patrick Knowles, who returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown at the 4:27 mark of the second quarter. After a penalty, Sullivan made the 34-yard extra point, giving Falkville the 7-0 lead.

From there, Addison took control, scoring touchdowns on its next five drives.

Kolby Kirk scored the first of two rushing touchdowns on a 7-yard run following the punt return touchdown.

Levi Hammack put Addison ahead by recovering a fumbled punt snap in the end zone. Kirk ran in the conversion to give Addison a 14-7 lead at the half.

Kirk added a 1-yard touchdown run that was set up by his 42-yard punt return. He also caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Ray on fourth-and-8 later in the quarter.

Freshman Benjamin Robinson added a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter and capped the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

Robinson finished with 125 yards on 17 carries while Kirk had 121 on 15 carries. Backup quarterback Ray also added 104 yards on four carries.

Sullivan had just 50 yards rushing on 12 attempts and 10 yards on just one pass completion. Knowles also added 34 yards rushing on 14 carries.