The Priceville Bulldogs were looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss at West Morgan the week before with the Brooks Lions coming to town – and bounce back they did, claiming a 42-35 win in the final seconds of the game.
The Bulldogs scored on the fourth play of the game. Xander Gaines took a handoff from Wyatt Hurt and raced 62 yards to give Priceville a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing Brooks’ possession, the Priceville defense came up with the first turnover over of the game, recovering a fumble at the 37-yard line.
The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover with a 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive to extend their lead to 14-0 with 3:33 left in the first quarter. Hurt connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cody Kennedy to cap off the drive.
Brooks would answer back with two scoring drives in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:32 to go before halftime.
Priceville answered back when Mason Cartee fielded the kickoff at the 15-yard line and went 85 yards for a touchdown return to put the Bulldogs up 21-14 heading into halftime.
The Lions took the second half’s opening kickoff and marched 64 yards in 11 plays to make the score 21-21, but Priceville reclaimed the lead with less than five minutes to go in the third when Jerry Burton scored from four yards out to make the score 28-21.
Brooks answered right back with an eight-play, 59-yard drive to notch the game at 28 with one minute to go in the third.
The Bulldogs recovered an onside attempt on the ensuing kickoff at the 50-yard line. They took advantage and scored on their first play when Gaines took a handoff and went 50 yards for a touchdown – his second of the game. Following the extra point, the Bulldogs led 35-28.
The Lions fought back on the next drive to pull even again at 35-35 with 8:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs put together their best drive of the game when they needed it most on their final possession. They methodically drove down the field to put themselves in the position to win the game.
The Bulldogs needed a fourth-down conversion to keep the drive alive with 6:35 to go. After the conversion, Priceville used a punishing ground attack to move into scoring position.
After the drive stalled at the 15-yard line, the Bulldogs had to settle for a JJ Vallejo field goal attempt. The 32-yard attempt missed to the left, but a Brooks player hit Vallejo after the kick and was called for roughing the kicker. The penalty gave the Bulldogs a fresh set of downs at the eight-yard line.
Two plays later, with nine seconds on the clock, Hurt rolled to his right and hit William Baker in the back corner of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown pass to win the game.
The Bulldogs were led by Gaines, who ran for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while Burton added 82 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Hurt finished the game 3-of-3 for 22 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 20 yards on three carries.
Brooks was led by quarterback Hunter Himber, who rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries while completing 15 of 17 passes for 146 yards.
“I was proud how our team responded to the loss last week,” said Priceville Coach Chris Foster. “I asked them to have a more focused week of practice and felt like they did.”
The win was Priceville’s first-ever over the Lions, who defeated the Bulldogs in their four previous meetings.
“I think anytime you can get the players to believe in what you’re doing enough to beat an opponent who they have never beaten before, it is a great thing,” said Foster.
Priceville (2-1, 1-1) will host Wilson Friday night.
