The streak is over. The Winder-Barrow High School football team no longer has the longest losing streak in Northeast Georgia. The Bulldoggs shocked visiting Cedar Shoals 31-21 at W. Clair Harris Stadium during homecoming in convincing fashion.
WBHS (1-7 overall, 1-5 in Region 8-AAAAA) took control of the game from the start and never trailed. Leading 17-0 at halftime, the Bulldoggs allowed three scores by Cedar Shoals in the second half, but the WBHS offense continued to be effective and never took its foot off the gas pedal.
“This feels awesome,” said Bulldogg junior quarterback Christian Hodge. “We played our hearts out tonight. We knew coming in we could win this game. We entered tonight with a great feeling of confidence. Now that it’s happened, it’s really unbelievable. It’s hard to put this feeling into words.”
Senior running back Chad Platt had another big night, scoring on a 43-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 61-yard sprint in the third quarter.
“It feels great to win,” Platt said. “It’s hard to really express what I’m feeling.”
Leading 17-0 after the first two quarters, WBHS saw Cedar Shoals get on the board with 6:33 left in the third. The Bulldoggs would answer, however, on Platt’s 64-yard run.
Even after the visiting Jaguars, who fell to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in region play, pulled to within 24-14, WBHS added another score for a 31-14 cushion. Platt had a touchdown run called back on the drive due to a holding penalty, but the Bulldoggs found the endzone anyway on a 24-yard run by teammate Sullivan.
Cedar Shoals pulled to within 10 points once again on a 3-yard quarterback keeper with 6:51 to play. The Jaguars would not get the football back again, however, as WBHS chewed up the remainder of the time for the win. Hodge’s final two kneel downs with a minute left sealed the deal.
Fullback Al Schotter played a key role in the win as his powerful running up the middle kept several Bulldogg drives alive.
“I haven’t had a better feeling since I’ve been on this football field,” Schotter said as the victory celebration continued on the field.
Credit for the win also must go to the WBHS offensive line. Junior Soloman Sims was one of those who helped clear the way Friday night.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Sims said. “Needless to say, a victory feels really good.”
The WBHS defense set the tone early forcing Cedar Shoals to punt on the Jaguars’ first series. The Bulldoggs moved from their own 33 to the Cedar Shoals 26 before the drive stalled. Sophomore kicker Colin Shannon had the distance on a 45-yard field attempt, but the kick was just to the left and the game remained scoreless with 4:28 left in the first half.
An interception by Bradyn Randall stopped Cedar Shoals on its next series. It then took Platt just one play to race 43 yards for a lead WBHS would never relinquish.
A 27-yard field by Shannon pushed the lead to 10-0 late in the first half. The tide of the game tipped completely in Winder-Barrow’s favor after the Bulldogg defense forced Cedar Shoals to punt out of its endzone. Sullivan returned the kick to the Jaguar 3-yard line with 18 seconds left. Hodge then connected with Sullivan on a 3-yard touchdown pass for a 17-0 lead at halftime.
While Cedar Shoals outscored WBHS 21-14 in the second half, the Jaguars were in too deep of a hole to climb out of. Plus each time Cedar Shoals would make a play and appear to be right back in the game, the Bulldoggs would answer.
Schotter made several bruising runs which kept drives alive and allowed WBHS to run out the final 6:51.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” said Bulldogg senior Levi Worley. “We’d like to keep it going as long as possible.”
The Region 8-AAAAA battles continue this Friday as the Bulldoggs travel to Athens to Clarke Central. The Gladiators are fighting for the postseason and need a win this week to help increase their odds.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Great Job this week to the athletes and Coaches.
and VOTE for the Doggs to be the High 5 team of the week!!! Show the BullDoggs we support them!! Voting ends tuesday! Get everyone you know to vote for them!
I love the double G and played there when I was in high school,but winning one game out of 31 does not make a team of the week. Keep your perspective man.
"Each Saturday during the contest period, FOX 5 personnel will select five high school sports teams to nominate for "Team of the Week" from high schools within the fifty-five counties of the FOX 5 viewing area...the teams will be selected based on popularity, compelling performance and/or the most interesting performance history."
If a group of kids who have been maligned for over 3 years to finally get a hard-earned "W" to end a 31-game losing streak doesn't qualify as a "compelling performance" with such an "interesting performance history", I don't know what team does.
The kids deserve some much needed positive attention for a change. Y'all please vote for the Doggs.