Bulldogs bounce back for HC

Cedartown getting ready for brewing storm against Cartersville Hurricanes on Friday night

The Cedartown Bulldogs (2-2) were challenged at the start of their Homecoming game to get their offense rolling fast, and they kept the throttle down all the way through a 55-7 rout over the Southeat Whitfield Raiders (2-2) on Friday night.

Bulldogs fans got to see a show as the Cedartown put up 320 yards of offense on the night and saw Tony Mathis, Kobe Pryor, and Taji Hudson all got chances to score. Mathis in particular put up three touchdowns, including a 52 yard run at the start of the second half.

“We challenged them before the game started that we wanted to score each time we had the ball,” Head Coach Doyle Kelley said. “The first half, penalties and things kept us from doing that. But our defense played wonderful, and our offense was doing what we should have done last week. We were determined that every time we got inside the 20 we were going to score, and we did.”

Kelley added he was happy to see his “two-headed monster” get back to rolling in their usual offensive tempo in the backfield as Mathis and Pryor both got chances to score.

Mathis also got a chance to show off what he can accomplish on defense after he picked off Raider quarterback Adam Sowder in the second half and ran it back to midfield that setup a drive for another score in the third quarter.

Late in the game, Cedartown utilized younger players during a running clock in the fourth quarter to give future stars the chance to shine in a live game situation. The Raiders came close to scoring on JV players as the clock wound down in the final minutes of play, but they held

off Southeast Whitfield to a

Southeast Whitfield scored their only touchdown on a 17-yard pass play in the second quarter.

With an even record heading into region play next week, the Bulldogs are preparing for a 5-4A showdown at home against an undefeated Cartersville Purple Hurricanes (4-0) under the leadership of a coach well known to Cedartown fans, Joey King.

It won’t be easy for Cedartown. Despite an overall season total of 111 points scored on offense compared to 47 scored against the defense, the Bulldogs are well behind where the undefeated 5-4A and state second ranked

Hurricanes. (Blessed Trinity sits at the top of the rankings. As an additional side note, 5-4A opponent Troup County is ranked 6th according to GPB, also with a 4-0 record.)

Cartersville thus far has shut out two opponents by double digits (including a week 3 70-0 win over McNair) and sits at a season total of 188 points to 13.

The Bulldogs have one advantage: they host this Friday night.

“We’re focusing on Cedartown, and that’s what we do. We’ll be here next Friday night,” Kelley said postgame after the Southeast Whitfield win. “We’re excited about the opportunity and what we have to do.”