Breaking News
Top Sports

Magnolia’s Rushing Attack Wins Out Against Bulldogs

By NICK HENTHORN 5 min read

BRIDGEPORT -- There was a styles clash Friday at Perkins Field between the Bridgeport Bulldogs and visiting Magnolia Blue Eagles. Bridgeport aired things out, attempting 29 passes-- which was 29 more attempts than Magnolia.

Yet the Blue Eagles' ground-bound offense proved effective for head coach Craig Mason's squad, as Magnolia (1-3) rushed the ball for all 57 of their offensive plays to capture their first win of the season, 36-28 over the Bulldogs (2-3).

Starring for Magnolia's run-exclusive offense was senior Cayden Hall, who handled 35 carries and piled up 207 yards with four touchdowns.

"We just physically dominated up front for most of the game," Mason said. "We almost gave it away there a couple of times with some untimely fumbles, but I just love the way our guys battled down the stretch. I don’t think we threw a pass tonight. We lined up and we just ran it down their throats.

"These guys really stepped up from a physicality standpoint, exactly what we’ve been preaching to them. Cayden Hall absolutely ran his tail off tonight. Our line, the blockers up front, everybody was superb. I couldn’t be more proud of how we ran the ball tonight."

Magnolia led by as much as 18 Friday, but the Bulldogs battled to give themselves a chance to tie the game on their last possession.

Trailing 22-6 at the half, Bridgeport came out of the locker rooms and started the second half with an onside kick, recovering it for a quick spark. The Bulldogs' Isaac Benda caught a slant and housed it 44 yards for a score, pulling Bridgeport within 10 after a failed two-point try-- neither team attempted an extra point nor a punt Friday.

Hall scored his third touchdown of the day, an 11-yard run with 8:27 in the third quarter, and after converting a two-point rush, Magnolia led 30-12.

Bridgeport scored again before the end of the quarter, running back Ashton Smith taking a short pass out of the backfield 47 yards to the house. After a successful two-point pass, the Bulldogs trimmed the lead back down to 10.

The two teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter as well, Hall running in a 10-yard touchdown at the 3:53 mark of the final frame-- though Bridgeport stood up the ensuing two-point run-- and on their first play back on offense, Bridgeport QB Aiden Kinsey tossed a ball to a curling Jaleel Vincent, who turned and burned up the sideline for a 61-yard score.

Finally, Bridgeport was able to get a stop on Magnolia's next turn with the ball, but the Blue Eagles' defense proved just as stout in the Bulldogs' final possession, ripping down two sacks to force a turnover-on-downs and ice the game.

Sophomore Kraytin Nice and junior Ayden Spitzer each got in on multiple sacks throughout Friday as the Blue Eagles finished with six as a team.

"I wish we would have started the first four minutes of the game like we finished the last four," Bridgeport head coach Curtis Smelley said. "We didn’t start fast and they made more plays than us, and that was the difference in this game. We played hard to the end, a hard-fought game, a one-touchdown game. Our offense is explosive, but we just started slow."

Indeed, Bridgeport was responsible for the four longest plays of the game, but while Magnolia didn't bust as many long ones as the Bulldogs, they moved the chains more methodically. The Blue Eagles finished with 20 first downs Friday, while Bridgeport finished with 13.

In addition to Hall's 207-yard day, junior Greg Moore ran 13 times for 106 yards and a touchdown, while senior Ethaniel Harlan turned eight carries into 39 yards.

While on the statsheet Magnolia spread the carries around in the first half, in the second half, Mason's offense relied more and more on Hall, feeding the hot hand.

"We had a lot of stuff in the game plan tonight, but at some point, until they proved they could stop it, you can’t change it," Mason said. "And we won the battle up-front. They got a stop there late. But for the most part, if it’s working, you gotta stick with it, and that’s what we did tonight."

Magnolia did attempt one pass Friday, though it wouldn't show up in the statsheet-- a two-point completion after their second score of the game, from QB Brycen Poslethwait to Ashton Skelley on an out-route.

For the Bulldogs, Kinsey finished a busy day with 16 completions on 29 attempts, totalling 344 yards and four touchdowns, all of his scores explosive plays of 47, 44, 47, and 61 yards.

Vincent was Bridgeport's top receiver with four catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while Benda finished with three grabs for 81 yards and a score. Ashton Smith finished with two catches for 51 yards and a touchdown and Coen Brinker had four catches for 37 yards.

Magnolia put the ball on the ground five times Friday, losing two of the fumbles, one in the first quarter, one in the third quarter. Bridgeport fumbled twice, losing one.

Magnolia was penalized four times for 30 yards, Bridgeport was penalized six times for 55 yards.

The Blue Eagles will next take on Ritchie County on the road next Friday. Bridgeport will look to rebound on the road against Conotton Valley.

"I’ve been telling them for weeks, we just need something good to happen," Mason said. "We need to get that first W. We’ve had so many injuries this year, we’re playing without so many guys, and we needed to get a W and start stacking wins. We’ll hopefully get some guys back in the coming weeks, and this is gonna be a good springboard for the second half of our season."

Starting at /week.