Morgan County opens up the season with a huge win over the Redskins
SOCIAL CIRCLE – The Morgan County Bulldogs were able to overcome some early adversity and defeat the Social Circle Redskins 42-18 on Friday in the season opener.
They opened up the game with a couple of mistakes, including a few fumbles, two botched snaps - one that led to a safety - and some untimely penalties. However, the result turned into something positive for Morgan County as it erased Social Circle’s double-digit lead in the second quarter.
“[We faced] a whole lot of adversity. It was self-inflicted early on,” Bulldogs’ head coach Clint Jenkins said. “You always want to see how your team is going to handle that early on [in the season]. We talked a lot about how we were going to handle it and I loved our kids' fight. We fought hard and our way back into the game.”
The Bulldogs didn’t play a complete game but it was enough for Jenkins to smile in his post-game address to his players, although he harped on not making "unnecessary mistakes." Jenkins added that “great teams” don’t display those qualities consistently.
The Redskins won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, so the Bulldogs got the ball first. They couldn’t do much on the first few plays, and a snap over quarterback Talan Fuller’s head on third-and-long pinned them deep in their territory. Another bad snap on the next play sailed over the head of punter Nolan Harris into the end zone, but he quickly fell on it to avoid Social Circle picking it up to score a touchdown. That miscue gave the Redskins a 2-0 early on in the first quarter of action.
“That was a heads-up play by Nolan,” Jenkins said. “He saved us big-time there.”
The Bulldog defense was able to hold firm on the ensuing possession and get the ball back. The offense started to pick up the pace a little, but a Jacere Cooper fumble stymied the drive. Social Circle was able to take advantage of that as it started its next possession with great field position.
Redskins’ quarterback Logan Cross connected with senior wide receiver Mason Moore on a 26-yard crossing pattern, which put them inside Morgan County's 20-yard line. They proceeded to score five plays later as Cross took a bobbled snap, wheeled around and found fellow senior playmaker DaShon Hyman in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Social Circle’s PAT attempt was unsuccessful, but its offense would get the ball back again three plays later on the ensuing possession due to another Bulldog fumble.
Despite a second turnover, Morgan County was able to hold their opponent to a field goal on that drive. The Redskins led 11-0 with 6:10 remaining in the first half. However, that’s when the Bulldogs turned things around. Cooper recovered from his earlier mistake and broke off on a 42-yard run inside the Social Circle 10. Junior running Jaydon Dorsey then punched it in, finally giving Morgan County a sign of life.
The Bulldogs’ defense held the Redskins to a three-and-out on the next series and got the ball on the Social Circle 41-yard line.
Cooper burst through a hole on the first play from scrimmage and gained 24 yards. A few plays later, Dorsey crossed the goal line for six which gave MCHS its first lead. The Bulldogs led 14-11 after the extra point with 2:02 left in the second quarter, although that lead wouldn't last long.
After stopping Morgan County on its next possession, Hyman fielded a punt from the Redskins’ 38-yard line. Several defenders had him pinned to the sideline, however, he was able to make a few cuts and ended up in their end zone in a matter of seconds.
Social Circle led 18-14 with all of the momentum heading into the half.
“We responded,” Jenkins said. “We had a chance to go into the half up, but we did a poor job of managing that possession [where the punt return happened]. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches, but the kids kept on being resilient. That’s all you can ask. If we can clean up half of this mess, we’ll have a chance to be a pretty decent football team. .. Our fight showed in the second half.”
Morgan County didn’t give up and tore open the contest in the second half. The Bulldogs’ offense scored 28 unanswered points to secure the victory. Their defense also locked down the trio of Cross, Moore and Hyman in the second half, posting a shutout in the last 24 minutes.
Senior wide receiver TJ Thompson and Fuller took over in the second half, scoring three times with all of them coming via the air.
The first scoring connection came on a long pass as the 6-foot-1, 175-pound signal-caller dropped back and delivered a strike to Thompson, who made a great play on the ball. He took off down the sideline after the catch and didn’t slow down until he reached the back of the end zone. That gave the Bulldogs a 21-18 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“I just knew he [the defensive back] couldn’t jump with me,” Thompson said with a smile after the game. “I snatched it over his head, then I took off [towards the end zone].”
Fuller interrupted Thompson’s post-game interview with an “oh yeah” in full excitement. He added in passing with a grin, “we are glad to have TJ out here with us!”
The pair would connect two more times in the end zone on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter. Finally, Cooper got a well-deserved rushing score with 2:02 left for Morgan County's last touchdown.
Fuller was sharp, completing 12-of-13 pass attempts for 135 yards and three touchdowns.
Cooper led the Bulldogs on the ground. He totaled 163 yards on 16 rushes with a score. Dorsey finished the contest, totaling 85 yards on 12 attempts for two touchdowns. Also, senior running back D.J. Smith racked up 47 yards on six carries.
Defensively, Morgan County was able to limit Cross, who threw for over 2,400 yards last season. The Bulldogs’ pass rush was efficient and recorded multiple sacks in the win. Cross finished the contest by going 9-of-18 for 67 yards and one touchdown.
“The plan was to come in, play good defense and run the football. Also, run the clock and control the game,” Jenkins said. “ … We can’t turn the ball over, but I thought we did a good job as the game goes on. We took care of it. We were able to establish the run. The offensive line played great. The plan was to be physical and control the clock. We felt like that would set everything else up. So, I am super proud of them.”
Morgan County will host Greene County for a rivalry game next week at 7:30 p.m. in Bill Corry Stadium.