MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County ended its spring camp on a positive note this past Friday with a win over Walnut Grove. The Bulldogs absolutely dominated the Class AAAA Warriors of Walton County with a 34-7 victory.
“Overall, it was a really good spring. I thought our energy was good all camp long. Very upbeat and we had some really good practices,” Bulldogs’ head coach Clint Jenkins said. “I thought we got better. As far as the game goes, we showed some flashes at times. Some really good stuff. With every spring game, there were a couple of turnovers and penalties, which stopped a couple of drives. Stuff we call ‘self-inflicted’ wounds. We’ve got to work on and try to get that under control.”
Morgan County got a lot of players from the varsity and the JV squad valuable reps against Walnut Grove.
However, Morgan County’s varsity team scored a majority of the points, with both the offense and defense playing soundly together. The Bulldogs were also able to capitalize on the Warriors’ mistakes.
Morgan County rising senior quarterback Talan Fuller completed 4-of-8 passes for 111 yards as wide receiver Ty Tillery hauled in three receptions for 103 yards. Jaylen Elder, a rising junior pass catcher, also caught four passes for a total of 62 yards, and a lot of them came after the catch.
“I think [Ty] Tillery will have a good year for us [at wide receiver],” Jenkin said. “I also think Jay[len Elder] will be the guy, though. Just because of experience. When the interception got thrown the other night, Jay was on the other side of the field and ran the guy down on the backside. So, he will definitely be that guy for us [at wideout] but we’ve got some other guys, too.”
Still, it was the Bulldogs’ running game that shined against a stout Walnut Grove defensive unit.
Morgan County’s rushing attack totaled 173 yards on 28 attempts (6.7 yards per carry) with three scores. Bulldog rising sophomore tailback Jordan Gordon led the offense in rushing with 99 yards on 10 carries. Rising senior Jaydon Dorsey tallied nine attempts for 62 yards and a pair of TDs.
“I will tell you, I was impressed with Jordan Gordon running the football,” Jenkins said. “We started the game with Jaydon [Dorsey] and then went to [Christian] Monfort. Last, we went to Jordan, who had nine carries for almost a 100 yards. So, that’s promising for us going into the summer.”
Morgan County backup quarterback Davis Strickland, a rising sophomore, totaled eight yards on two carries with a rushing touchdown. Christian Monfort also had 20 yards on six rush attempts.
All that success was due in part to the Bulldogs’ offensive line unit, which Jenkins had some question marks about entering Friday night, being able to handle Walnut Grove’s defensive line in the contest.
“Our offensive line did a good job as we were able to run the football effectively,” Jenkins said. “Still, there’s a lot of work we’ve got to do in that part. We’re still trying to figure out the right combination of guys. We played some guys in different places and tried to figure out the best combo, but again overall, I thought we played fairly well upfront. And we were physical as well.”
Defensively, Morgan County pretty much shut down the Warriors’ offense outside of a long bust play. In the second quarter, their running back was able to get out in space and rush for a long TD.
The Bulldogs also played without two rising senior linebackers – Dayne Dickerson and Landen Vickers - but still had a lot of success. Those two were replaced with four rising sophomores at linebacker.
“I’ve never done that before,” Jenkins said of the situation. “But we are hoping to get some guys back. Some of those older guys … but those young guys at LB [linebacker] stepped up big time.”
Morgan County is off for the next couple of weeks following the scrimmage. The Bulldogs will next be in action for a 7-on-7 passing camp at Athens Academy in Athens on Friday, June 5.