Football: Bulldoggs use big plays to defeat Loganville 45-21

While Winder-Barrow High School and Loganville High School are no longer in the same region or even the same classification, the two schools typically have competitive games on the football field.
Friday night was an exception as the host Bulldoggs had strong efforts on defense and special teams and also used a steadily improving offense for a convincing 45-21 victory.
In what may have been the team’s best overall performance of the season WBHS (2-2) shined in all three phases of the game.
“It was good to have our offense and special teams on par with the defensive effort,” said coach Ed Dudley. “We were looking forward to being back at home this week and it was great to see such a good effort. Loganville is a very good team.”
Winder-Barrow’s special teams played a big role in the outcome as the Bulldoggs blocked two punts with both resulting in scores — one directly and one indirectly. Senior Ryan Mayard led the special teams’ standout performance with two blocks.
“I was just glad to contribute in any way I could,” Mayard said. “It was a good win for the entire team. That is the most important thing.”
Deondre Millwood also had an interception return to the LHS 4-yard line which led to a touchdown run by Aaron Bagley with 4:43 remaining in the first.
Defense has been a key part of the success enjoyed by Dudley’s team through the first four games of the 2018 season.
LHS quarterback Tanner Greene was knocked out of the game in the second quarter. Greene has been a standout as a sophomore for coach Mike Humphreys but once he left the game the signal calling then went to freshman Cooper Kennedy, who was under constant pressure for the WBHS defense.
LHS (2-2) struck quickly on 80-yard pass from Chandler Greene to D’errius Hart on the first offensive snap of the contest.
WBHS, meanwhile, struggled out of the gate, losing 10 yards on its first series. The Bulldogg defense stepped up, however, and stopped the Red Devils on their second series. On the punt attempt, Mayard broke through and blocked the attempt. Bagley made the recovery to set up the WBHS offense at the LHS 30-yard line.
The Bulldogg offense then found the end zone for the first time on a 29-yard pass from Jhaydon Sullivan to Tyreek Perkins with 7:54 left in the opening quarter. Harlin Brown added the point-after kick.
It was the Bulldogg defense which put the next points on the board when Jamar Mack intercepted a Greene pass attempt and raced 66 yards for the score. That play stopped a LHS drive which had lasted seven plays.
WBHS took a two-touchdown lead on a three-yard run by Zack Price with 9:24 before halftime.
The Bulldogg defense, as it has throughout the 2018 season, played strong after the first LHS offensive series of the first half.
WBHS looked to seal the deal in the first half but an interception by Loganville’s Govinda Goberdham kept the Red Devils in the contest at least temporarily.
On the following offensive snap for LHS, Bulldogg all-state player and Clemson commit Logan Cash sacked Greene, causing the Red Devil quarterback to leave the game.
Kennedy was then called on but was abruptly welcomed into the contest by a sack combination of Jacob Merrifield and Rousseau O Asu Abang. Kennedy’s second play did result in a 20-yard pass completion to Hart but it was not enough for a first down.
The WBHS special teams then made another big play as Mayard blocked his second punt which was this time returned for a touchdown by J.C. Green. Brown’s PAT made pushed the Bulldogg lead to 28-7.
Millwood’s interception return set Winder-Barrow up again as the Bulldoggs needed just one offense snap for Bagley to get into the end zone and a 35-7 cushion.
Brett Landis intercepted a pass in the final 15 seconds of the first half to punctuate the strong half for WBHS.
Neither team scored in the third quarter but the Bulldoggs put the exclamation point on the win in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard pass from Sullivan to Landis with 10:31 left. Brown was perfect on point-after kicks in the win.
LHS added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make the final score more respectable on a kickoff return by Hart and an interception return by Trevon Williams.
The Bulldogg offense line of Levi Vertrees, Austin Crouse, James Freeman, Zach Bramlett and Joey Klemm also stood out in Friday’s win.
“We still have some things to clean up,” Dudley said noting the kickoff return and interception return by LHS. “We weren’t perfect by any means but it was great to get the win.”
Winder-Barrow will host Oconee County next Friday while LHS will host St. Pius.