On their last games of their regular seasons, both local football teams tied it up and put a bow on it: the Bulldogs celebrated their Senior Night by turning a tied-up halftime score into a comfortable win, and the Indians saw running-back E.J. Lackey make a 64-yard touchdown.

ON SENIOR NIGHT, BULLDOGS GO INTO OVERDRIVE IN SECOND HALF

Trion’s Senior Night was the occasion for its last regular season game of 2018. The Bulldogs hosted the Pinecrest Academy Paladins of Cummins, GA at Sam McCain Stadium.

Bulldog senior Jake Hayes set the Senior Night tempo early on, shaking up the Paladins’ quarterback for a sack. After Bulldog defense forced a turnover on downs, their offense led a series of mid-length runs, opening up Braden Johnson (#22) for a 9-yard rushing touchdown. Bolstered by the momentum of an early 7-0 lead, Trion repeated the tactic; senior Hagen Willingham (#10) drove the ball downfield, and with less than a minute to go, Johnson’s 10-yard rushing touchdown put 13-0 on the scoreboard.

After Trion forced another turnover on downs on their end of the field, the second quarter initially seemed headed in the same direction; however, the Paladins recovered a fumble on Trion’s 29-yard line, and subsequently took the ball to the end zone in short order, securing 6 points to Trion’s 13. Paladins defense exhausted Trion’s downs to gain possession of the ball, and despite a sack by Alex Stewart (#70), tied up the score at 13 about a minute before halftime.

However, if the game looked like a toss-up at the mid-point, Bulldog seniors cleared up any confusion about whose night it was. Firing on all cylinders, Trion held the ball for the majority of Q3 and scored 21 points, aided by Stewart, Willingham, and junior Tight End Will Wyatt (#23).

Willingham took another touchdown early in the last quarter; his was ultimately the last of the night after the Paladins held off the Bulldogs within just 10 yards of the end zone. When the buzzer sounded, the Bulldogs second-half turnaround closed upSenior Night with an impressive 40-13 win.

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INDIANS FINISH REGULAR SEASON BY SMOKING DRAGONS

The Chattooga Indians will head into the play-offs 6-1 regionally and 8-2 overall following last night’s victory over Pepperell High School’s Dragons.

The first half of the Chattooga-Pepperell game was back-and-forth punting, with the halftime scoreboard reading 0 tied. The second half threatened to be a repeat of the first, but Chattooga steadily drove the ball downfield, and running-back Lashaun Lester (#6) punched the ball in for a 2-yard touchdown. After a missed PAT, the third quarter score was 6-0. Heading into the last quarter, strong blocking from the offensive line provided a huge gap for running-back E.J. Lackey (#31) to score a break-away 64-yard touchdown. A failed conversion put the score at 12-0.

After a turnover on Pepperell’s downs, Chattooga took possession of the ball and set up quarterback Clayton Johnson (#14) for a quickly executed 3-yard touchdown. A successful PAT made the score 19-0.

A late heave downfield provided the Dragons with a scoring drive, making the score 19-7. A failed onside kick from Pepperell closed up both team’s last regular season game of the year.

The Indians aren’t losing any time heading into the first round of playoffs; next Friday, they’ll host Atlanta’s Wolverines, who are 5-2 regionally and 7-3 overall.