The Morgan County Bulldogs dropped their second straight after coming up short in the Purple Pit at Monroe Area High School last Friday night.
The Bulldogs actually came out and scored first early in the opening quarter on a 34-yard field goal, but that would be the only time Morgan County got on the board in the first half.
The Hurricanes led 21-3 heading into the locker room at halftime after the Bulldogs struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the opening half; however, things looked promising for head coach Clint Jenkins’ team after Zach Moore returned the opening second-half kick into Hurricanes’ territory.
The Bulldogs quickly pounced on the opportunity, and a few plays later, quarterback Talan Fuller found TJ Thompson on a 25-yard strike to give Morgan County its first touchdown of the game.
After bringing it within 11, the Bulldogs' offense struggled to keep up with the point production.
The Hurricanes’ defense was able to hold senior playmaker Jacere Cooper to 94 yards on 22 attempts and no scores.
Smith put one more field goal through the uprights before the game ended, but it wasn’t enough for the Bulldogs to overcome the Hurricanes’ tough physical play.
Jenkins told the Lake Oconee News that the Bulldogs knew the Hurricanes would prove to be a tough matchup, and they did.
“We knew we were going in to face a good football team, a playoff caliber-type football team. It felt like we got off to a decent start in the first series, but for us, it really came down to three plays,” Jenkins said. “We gave up two quick screens for touchdowns because we took bad angles, and then they hit us with one in the fourth quarter. Same deal, same kid.”
Morgan County is now 3-2 on the season as it looks ahead to the rest of the schedule, which involves five region games.
The Bulldogs have a bye this week. They will open up Region 4-AAA play on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Academy of Richmond County (ARC) in Augusta. Morgan County leads ARC in the all-time series 3-1 with its last win coming in the form of a 32-0 shutout in Jenkins’ first year with the program last season.
Heading into the game, Jenkins believes the team will be prepared by watching film and translating that knowledge over to the practice field.
“We watched film on defense this morning, and the offensive film will be watched later, but we’re trying to correct angles and get our eyes up,” Jenkins said. “We’re trying to show them some mistakes so that they can get the mental reps in the film room, and then we’ll go out and try to fix those mistakes at practice.”
Jenkins and the Bulldogs prepare for a team that is historically a tough matchup, but the Musketeers are now led by first-year head coach David Sammons, so Morgan County may have more experience overall when it comes time to lace up the cleats once again.