Cedartown claims bragging rights again over Rockmart.
Rockmart’s Zabrion Whatley looks for a cut. Right: Trevon Wofford.
It always comes down to the final plays of the game in a big rivalry matchup. The score was close, with Rockmart just 8 points away from a tie and time left on the clock to get one more touchdown with the chance for more, if they could only convert on fourth down and a country mile.
However, their cross-county rivals and holders of the rivalry title from 2016 stood firm as Rockmart’s Dylan Bailey tried for one more pass and came up short.
“It was the ball game,” said Cedartown head coach Doyle Kelley. “We told our kids when they scored the last one (touchdown,) and they recovered the onside kick, it was gut-check time. They did what they could do, but we made some big plays there at the end too.”
So Cedartown once again picked up the win in the Battle for Polk County bragging rights in a wild 34-26 finish.
The annual rivalry between the Cedartown Bulldogs and the Rockmart Yellow Jackets kicked off the season for the two teams, who will be back at Cedartown Memorial Stadium this coming Friday for the Battle of the Borders.
The Bulldogs drew first blood in the annual rivalry as Cedartown’s Trevon Wofford looked to have an easy score midway through the first quarter, but it was called back on a block on the back penalty.
The Bulldogs Tony Mathis was quick to make up for the penalty when he ran it in for a five-yard touchdown to make it a 7-0 ball game.
The Bulldogs added another score
before the end of the first quarter taking advantage of a fumble by Rockmart quar-terback Dylan Bailey that was recovered by the Bulldog's Cruz Rodriguez deep in the Jackets territory. The ensuing 25-yard drive ended when Wofford snuck it past the Rockmart defensive line for a half-yard touchdown. Rockmart was able to block the extra point attempt.
Later in the second quarter, Rockmart took advantage of a short field off a fumble recovered by (Rockmart # 16) at the Cedartown 3 yard line, allowing after a one play drive a touchdown by Markus Smith.
It was Rockmart's only score of the half, which Mathis im-mediately followed up with a 99-yard kickoff return after a bobbled catch and recovery that saw him wind his was through the defense for another touchdown.
"I knew I messed up, I was supposed to run up and get the kick, and I had called for the ball," Mathis said. "I mis-communicated with Keyshon Kent, so I just grabbed it up and found something, and got it," Mathis said.
Mathis was later awarded both a Fox 5 Game of the Week trophy and the game ball from Kelley, a new award given to the Bulldogs and sponsored by Chickfil-A.
Before the half, Rockmart's Hunter England tried for a 27-yard field goal attempt which was well short and caught by the Bulldogs in the end zone for a touch back. A last minute drive before the half came to an end with a sack on Bailey.
The Jackets came out in the second half and after three-play opening drive scored when Ant Lester scored on a 67 yard touchdown run to bring the score within a touchdown.
After Cedartown and Rockmart traded punts, the Bulldogs put together a long drive and kept it alive on a 4th down to convert and turned it into a 46-yard touchdown drive with Kobe Pryor picking up a fiveyard score.
The Bulldogs added another touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a long drive, with a 22yard pass between Wofford and Dakota Mason for Cedartown's final score of the night.
Fans might have thought the game was over, but the Jackets weren't done.
They put together a quick drive and got themselves back in the game as Lester put it in following a succession of runs by Markus Smith, Zabrion Whatley and Zoryan Hendricks to get them back within scoring range before Lester punched it in for a five-yard touchdown run.
Rockmart then got it closer when they were able to put on another touchdown thanks to a 15-yard quarterback keeper by Bailey with 2:22 left on the clock, then tried for one more after recovering an onside kick.
A costly sack and holding call eventually put Rockmart in a last-ditch, fourth and 26 situation where they tried for one last pass, but couldn't convert and turned over the ball on downs.
Cedartown ended the game with a victory formation, and the Bulldogs got to celebrate a big milestone: their new head coach's first win after 32 years of waiting.
"I've been waiting on it a long time, and my family has stuck with me and my coaches have stuck with me, and gave me this opportunity," said Kelley after the game. "But Rockmart is a great team, and they fought to the very end, and the Bulldogs fought too. But the Bulldogs never lose, they fight to the very end."
It was a disappointing end for Rockmart head coach Biff Parson, who said his team had plenty of chances to pick up the win.
"We gave ourselves a chance with the onsides, which was great," he said. "But we had a hard time finding our rhythm offensively and we put our defense in the hole. I'm proud of the way they fought back, it shows that we have some good character and tough kids on this team... but it's a tough loss because I know how much they wanted this, but we've got to move on to next week."
Rockmart and Cedartown are back in action in Polk County this coming Friday with the return of the Battle of the Bor-ders, this time being hosted in Polk County.
It's set to start at 5:30 p.m. with the Jackets taking the field first in a showdown with Piedmont, Ala., High School at Ce-dartown Memorial Stadium. The Bulldogs will then take on Cherokee County, Ala., High School in the second game of the night.
Last year, Rockmart and Cedartown traveled to Piedmont, Ala., to play in the first ever Battle of the Borders as the opener of the season for both teams. Rockmart won their game against Cherokee County in a 54-28 offensive match between the two teams in the rain, while Cedartown fell to Piedmont in a 2922 loss on the road.