After a tough road loss on Oct. 2 and a second bye week, the Morgan County Bulldogs returned to Bill Corry Stadium hoping to end homecoming week on good terms. Despite finding a groove in the running game, Morgan County (3-4) faced the ultimate heartbreaker Oct. 16, losing 33-29 to Franklin County late in the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded brief leads, but the Dogs held momentum for most of the game. However, the Lions landed a 15-yard rushing touchdown to win with seven seconds left on the clock.
Dogs head coach Clint Jenkins described the loss as especially tough, as the team’s previous home game ended in a similar last-minute fashion, but with a four-point win over Hebron Christian Academy. Regardless, he said he was proud of his team for fighting hard throughout the night on both sides of the ball.
“It was a really tough loss because we had it right down to the end,” Jenkins said. “We won the Hebron game like that, and it feels great [to win late in the game], but when you’re on the other side of it, it’s tough.”
The Dogs’ offense produced 492 yards against the Lions’ defense, including 367 yards on the ground, and junior quarterback Gunner Braswell added 125 yards on eight of 13 pass attempts.
Senior running back Alex Corrias took charge with two touchdowns, 167 rushing yards, and 24 carries. Wide receiver Cole Wesley followed with 101 rushing yards on three carries.
Sophomore running back Aiden Lawrence accounted for the Dogs’ other two rushing touchdowns, along with 83 yards in nine carries. “I thought offensively our guys did a good job keeping us in, and it was one of those nights where we struggled a little bit on defense,” Jenkins said. “We had 18 missed tackles, and that hasn’t happened since the first year [our coaching staff got here].”
Jenkins said he believes the Dogs’ defense looked efficient in limiting the Lions’ running game but struggled to contain the quarterback.
“The quarterback hurt us, obviously running a little bit on scramble plays and some broken plays, and it was just one of those deals,” Jenkins said. “We did a good job with what we perceived as their running game, but they shifted a little bit and tried to attack our outside and secondary. They were able to do that some early, and it kind of shifted their whole game plan a little bit.”
With the homecoming loss behind them, Morgan County takes the road to face the Hart County Bulldogs, who currently rank first in AAA Region 8 with a 7-1 record.
Jenkins acknowledged the road game will be a “good challenge” for his players, and his team needs to improve areas in all three phases of the game, along with basic techniques.
“We’ve got to go back and fix some things, including most of the stuff we’ve been working on all year,” Jenkins said. “It’s been a consistency of play thing for us, kind of getting the level of play where we want it; we’re there at times, and sometimes we’re not, so we just need to be sound in special teams and win the field position battle.”