Bulldogs win big to clinch playoff spot
When the Cedartown Bulldogs needed it the most, they put together one of their most impressive all-around performances of the season as the regular season came to a close at Chapel Hill with a 45-13 win on the road.
Last week, the Bulldogs clashed with Chapel Hill to clinch the 5-AAAA fourth seed playoff spot, and finished the regular season with an even 5-5 with the win. It came hard on the heels of their heartbreaking 31-28 loss to Sandy Creek on Senior Night at the end of October, but the anxiety over the loss was short-lived on the field.
They opened scoring in the first quarter when Taji Hudson connected with receiver Zahquan Frazier for a long jump-ball touchdown pass. The Dawgs led 7-0 at the end of the first, but they were far from done scoring.
The Cedartown offense exploded for four touchdowns in the second quarter alone and the defense only allowed Chapel Hill to score 7 points in the first half, as they went into the locker rooms boasting a 35-7 lead. Cedartown added 10 points in the third quarter and focused on running out the clock and getting experience for reserve players in the fourth.
The Panthers found their only success on the night in the second half on a short scamper by quarterback KJ Burton.
When all was said and done, Cedartown punched their ticket to the playoffs by building up big numbers in the stats books.
Cedartown’s run game put together one of their best performances all season, nearly rushing for a combined 500 yards including touchdown runs by West Virginia commit Tony Mathis, Kobe Pryor, Chadriq Neal, and Rashad Walker.
After the Sandy Creek loss, the biggest performer of the night was Hudson with his bounce back on the road.
The junior QB boasted one of his most efficient performances all season, completing 6 of 8 on passing for 101 yards on the night.
The win puts Cedartown’s final regular season record at 5-5 overall and 3-3 in region play.
Cartersville upended Troup County 43-10 on Friday in the de facto region championship game. Cartersville takes the one seed, Troup is the second seed, Sandy Creek claims the third seed as the region played out last week.
The Cedartown-St. Pius X match-up is currently one of the choices being considered to be the Fox 5 Game of the Week. To vote, you can go to myfoxatlanta. secondstreetapp.com.