Delays were the name of the game for Football Friday last week.
Only a few of the Cedartown faithful stuck around to see the Bulldogs try for one more score and come up short against the Bowdon Red Devils Friday night in a 35-28 home loss.
The Bulldogs were driving and it came down to a final fourth and 8 play, but Trevon Wofford’s pass into the end zone fell incomplete and took away the final chance in the last minute of the game to tie and send it to overtime.
Friday’s game finished off following a 30minute lightning delay in the last two minutes of the game, forcing both teams to the locker room and cutting off the momentum the Bulldogs built up on a drive that ultimately ended without a score.
“We came up incomplete in the end zone, and it’s not the kids’ fault,” said head coach Scott Hendrix after the game. “They played their hearts out.”
Cedartown started off slow on the night, going four and out on their opening possession of the game and both teams couldn’t find their stride on offense until midway through the first quarter, when the Red Devils finally put together a scoring drive and sent Tay Sheppard in for a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs answered and took the lead on a Wofford pass to Darien Hargrove for 8 yards.
That was followed by a second touchdown after a Bowdon drive for Sheppard with 20 seconds left in the quarter, and then a fumbled handoff on the ensuing drive for the Bulldogs that ended in 2 points for the Red Devils on the ensuing safety.
Bowdon didn’t capitalize in the second quarter off the safety punt, and following another quick set of downs for the Bulldogs gave up the ball on a second down fumble recovered by Calvin Ragsdale.
Cedartown wasn’t able to make anything of the turnover after Wofford threw an interception, but in a drive later in the quarter was able to connect with Ragsdale for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
The Red Devils and Bulldogs traded series through the rest of the half until finally Bowdon put together a quick drive near the end of the half and gave quarterback and kicker Cason Parmer a field goal to go into the locker room 18-13.
Wofford seemed to recover his poise in the second half after throwing a second interception early, but before the Bulldogs started to mount a comeback the Red Devils put another field goal on the board.
Midway through the third quarter, Wofford and Tyler Blaylock put together a drive that ended in a 8-yard touchdown pass from the Bulldogs quarterback to Joseph Gibbons, and with a 2-point conversion tied the game.
Bowdon went four and out, and in the next serie, Cedartown put on a drive that ended early in the fourth quarter with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Wofford to Gibbons giving the Bulldogs a brief 28-21 lead.
The Red Devils then scored on the kickoff return following a 72yard run by Sheppard to tie the game again, and then with 3:45 left got a final touchdown that eventually led to the win.
Though Cedartown didn’t get the win on the scoreboard, Hendrix said he felt it was a great showing for his team that now drops to 0-3 on the season. One reason why: Wofford put together a great second half.
“He played well and our protection was good,” he said. “When he has time to get his reads and put the ball up, he’s great. He’s still growing up. It was better but not where we needed.”
The Bulldogs travel to Heard County next Friday night in nonregion play.