Bruins hold on for victory vs. Wolves
PEARCY — While Lake Hamilton wrapped up its season with a loss Friday night, it was a bittersweet feeling as it (3-7, 2-6 6A-West) held Pulaski Academy (8-2, 6-2) to a close 26-21 final score.
A last-minute touchdown by Lake Hamilton sophomore Coy Autrey, plus an extra point, rounded out the game that was closer than expected for many.
“I thought overall, our kids did a really good job tonight against a really good, a third place team in our conference, and I’m proud of the effort they had,” Lake Hamilton Coach Tommy Gilleran said.
Contributing to the Wolves offense all night was Autrey, Hagan Tyler and Dylan Murphy, all of whom will be eligible to play next year. Of course, the defense was the real standout, keeping the Bruins out of the end zone on several drives. Seniors Jacob Muddiman and Riley Poole made big stops all night. The squad was led by junior Landon West at quarterback.
“We just wanted to get a win on the way out,” Gilleran said. “I was proud of the efforts of the seniors and any other kids playing for those kids.”
Pulaski Academy opened up the game with quick momentum, leaving little time between snaps. The Bruins breezed into the end zone in less than 2 minutes of play after winning the coin toss and electing to receive. A touchdown pass from about midfield flew up the middle and landed in the hands of Walden Culpepper, who was left completely unattended.
Other wide receivers fielding passes by Pulaski Academy’s Brandon Cobb were Andrew Fiser, KJ Colen and Charlie Cotros. Rushing was largely left to Javion Walker and Nate Thomas Jr.
On Lake Hamilton’s first possession, it managed to get two plays into a drive before an interception was thrown to senior defensive back Walt Smiley, who turned it into a pick-six for a 12-0 quarter.
The very first moments of the second quarter, the Wolves were able to punch in a touchdown after Autrey and Murphy landed their team within the 5-yard line in the last drive of quarter one.
A second-and-goal pass from the 6-yard line connected with Tyler, who then juked his way in for Lake Hamilton’s first touchdown.
That’s when Lake Hamilton switched up the tactics and ran some defensive plays that left the Bruins’ linemen unsure of who to cover. For much of the second and third quarter, the Bruins found themselves in fourth-and-long situations and kept getting sacked.
The Bruins went for twopoint conversions on most of their touchdowns throughout the night.
“These kids, they’re kids,” Pulaski Academy Coach Anthony Lucas said. “They look at people’s records… That doesn’t work.”
He says his team “just did enough” and that if they don’t make a change, they won’t stay in the playoffs for long.
By the end of the first half, the Bruins found the end zone again when Cobb handed off the ball to Thomas from the 6 for a halftime score of 19-7 with the extra point.
The Wolves kept the Bruins from scoring at all in the third quarter. With neither team besting the other, the 19-7 tally remained into the final quarter.
The Bruins started to feel the heat when the Wolves found the end zone again on a handoff play to Murphy early on. The extra point put them at 14 points.
The defense made it a point to give Cobb and his crew a hard time. They kept up the pressure as two Pulaski Academy touchdown plays in a row were flagged for holding calls.
But they managed to move the chains and land within scoring range. Cobb handed off to Walker on a second-and-1 touchdown. Then the extra point was good for a 26-14 score with less than 5 minutes of play left.
Lake Hamilton made its last drive, ending in West’s touchdown pass to Autrey from the 21-yard line with just over a minute remaining. With the extra point, the ball game ended with a 26-21 Bruins win.
“I know they got a lot of injuries, but they fought extremely hard,” Lucas said. “They played a big part in the way we played, but we gotta do better.”