Sweet Water Bulldogs fall to Maplesville

Published 8:45 pm Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Sweet Water Bulldogs sustained a 28-21 loss to the Maplesville Red Devils, ending their season in the second round playoff round. A mix of missed penalty calls and mistakes on the Bulldogs part cost them the game.

The Bulldogs drew first blood with 5:11 to go in the first quarter. The touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Nate Norris to Caleb Dixon. The extra point kick by David Etheridge was no good, but the Bulldogs were up 6-0.

The first drive for the Red Devils didn’t yield any points, but mismanagement of the ball on the Bulldogs’ next drive led to a safety for Maplesville with 7:24 to play in the second quarter, making the score 6-2.

Email newsletter signup

The Red Devil’s RaShun McCary scored the first touchdown for Maplesville on a 1-yard run. The extra point kick was no good, but Maplesville took the lead at 8-6.

A Bulldog fumble recovered by Maplesville resulted in their next score. The Red Devil’s completed an 11-yard pass to Aidan Abbot with 1:07 remaining in the first half. The two-point conversion failed again, but Maplesville increased their lead to 14-6.

The game went downhill for the Bulldogs as they fumbled the kickoff and the Red Devils recovered with only a few seconds left in the first half. However, Maplesville only kept the ball for a short time before Parker Townsend intercepted the ball for Sweet Water with only 0:25 remaining in the first half.

Deshanard Blanks runs over a Maplesville player on his way to the end zone last Friday night. Photo by Andrea Burroughs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deshanard Blanks scored for the Bulldogs on a 23-yard pass from Norris as time expired. The two-point conversion run by Blanks was good, and the teams went into halftime tied at 14-14.

The second half began with a costly facemask penalty against the Bulldogs that gave Maplesville good field position. The Red Devils went on to score on a 2-yard run by McCary late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 20-14.

Sweet Water responded with a 1-yard run by Elliot Lucy with 1:24 left in the third quarter. The extra point kick was good, giving the Bulldogs a one point lead at 21-20.

Maplesville scored the final touchdown of the game with 9:30 remaining in the game. Abbot scored on a 35-yard pass and ran the two-point conversion, putting Maplesville up 28-21.

Costly mistakes by the Bulldogs ended their next drive with no score. Maplesville ended the Bulldogs hopes of a comeback with an interception on Sweet Water’s next drive, making the final score 28-21.

Sweet Water ended their season with a 9-2 record.