Early deficit no problem as Bruins beat Wildcats
5A-CENTRAL PULASKI ACADEMY 51, WATSON CHAPEL 14
Two first-quarter touchdowns by Watson Chapel only seemed to anger the Pulaski Academy defense.
Junior quarterback Braden Bratcher passed for 369 yards and the Bruins’ defense caused four turnovers and held the Wildcats to 43 yards of offense in the second half in Friday’s 51-14 victory at Joe B. Hatcher Stadium.
Pulaski Academy’s victory, combined with White Hall’s loss at Little Rock Parkview, clinched the 5A-Central title for the Bruins (8-1, 6-0).
Watson Chapel (2-6-1, 1-5) scored on its first two possessions and held a 14-8 lead with 3:19 remaining in the first quarter, but the remainder of the contest belonged to the Bruins.
“Right after that we knew we had to turn things around,” said junior defensive back Clay James, who intercepted one pass and broke up another. “We knew we had to stomp on their throats and we couldn’t let them score anymore.”
Using a Wishbone-style attack, Watson Chapel scored on drives of 53 and 55 yards but the Wildcats managed only 104 yards of offense the remainder of the game.
“Watson Chapel came out and did some things we hadn’t seen,” Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley said. “We couldn’t simulate their speed in practice. Honestly, they had a good scheme and they’ve got some good players and they executed well. We knew our defense was going to make some adjustments. It was up to our offense to keep scoring until our defense figured it out.”
Bratcher was 22 of 29. He ran for a touchdown and threw for four more, including two to senior John David White for 28 and 30 yards. Bratcher also connected with senior Nate Cumming for a 28-yard touchdown and with senior Hudson Henry for a 37yard score.
Henry caught a team-high eight passes for 120 yards. Junior Jaden Kelley led the Bruins in rushing, using 12 carries for 88 yards. Kelley also caught three passes for 50 yards.
Pulaski Academy led 2214 at the half and turned the game completely in its favor by stuffing Watson Chapel’s Javarius Brown for no gain on a fourth-and-7 on the first drive of the second half.
Three plays later, Bratcher connected with Henry at the 8:57 mark of the third quarter to start a 29-point second half.
“The coaches made some great adjustments at halftime and all we did was come out and play as hard as we could,” James said. “We did everything right from that point on. We played perfectly.”
Pulaski Academy finished with 567 yards of offense while holding Watson Chapel to 212.
Deantae Cooper led Watson Chapel with 60 yards on 11 carries. Brown added 48 yards on nine carries. Watson Chapel’s longest run in the second half was an 11-yard run by Cooper. The Wildcats were 0 of 9 passing and quarterback Devin Curry was intercepted twice.
Curry scored Watson Chapel’s first touchdown on a 10-yard run with 7:06 left in the first quarter. Quashawn Jermon scored from a yard out at the 3:19 mark.