NEWBERN &045; The Sunshine High School Tigers crossed the end zone two times in the second half to wipe out a 14-0 half time deficit and beat the Wadley Bulldogs 16-14 last Friday. Sunshine reached pay dirt early in the third quarter and then early in the fourth quarter and now advances to the quarterfinals to face Sweet Water.

Wadley was able to get into the end zone once in each of the first two quarters. Both were on touchdown runs to take a 14-0 lead. &8220;We missed some assignments in the first half,&8221; Watford said.

The tide turned in the third quarter for the Tigers when the Bulldogs lost the ball by result of a fumble. Sunshine gained possession on the Wadley side of the field. They would get on the scoreboard as the drive culminated on a 34-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Marcus Lee to junior receiver Justin Wagner. Senior Robert Lyons plunged in for the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 14-8. The home field advantage would come into play as the crowd came alive.

The revved up Sunshine defense continued to hold off each Bulldog drive. They completely shut the Wadley offense down in the second half. That was enough to give the Tiger offense opportunities. The offense did just that. They capitalized on a drive that began at the end of the third quarter and pushed across the goal line at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Lyons broke loose for a ten-yard rumble for the score to tie and the two-point conversion gave Sunshine a slim 16-14 advantage.

The Sunshine defense would once again come to task holding the Bulldogs. The Tiger offense would regain possession with seven minutes left to play in the game. The offense held on to the ball the entire seven minutes, running out the clock and gained birth into the state quarterfinals.

Sunshine (8-3) will go on the road to Sweet Water for a quarterfinal contest with the No. 2 ranked Bulldogs on Friday.