By REID TUCKER
After a measured, tactical first half, the Bulldogs and the Blue Devils were tied 14-all close to halfway through the third quarter, but it was off to the races after that.
In an apparent disregard for anything but all-out offense, both squads scored four more times before the end of the night on Sept. 11. It was anybody’s game to win in what had become a race against the clock, but it was Freeport that came out on top 43-40 thanks to a stalwart defensive effort that forced a Holmes County turnover on downs with 26 seconds left in the contest. Freeport head coach Jim Anderson had high praise for his troops, who despite allowing the Devils to score 34 points in the second half after holding them to just six in the first, came through when the game was on the line.
“We finished that last drive and we finished on defense,” Anderson said. “It’s as simple as that. We can’t control the scoreboard; we control our effort. Obviously we have some things to work on, but we did enough.”
The ‘Dogs’ discipline was much improved over the past two weeks, when they struggled with penalties, and running back Chris Decker led the charge with 236 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Austin Vinson supplied plenty of backup muscling his way for 67 yards and a touchdown for 10 carries’ worth of work, while quarterback Zack Seay contributed another three touchdowns, 40 rushing yards and 80 yards passing on a 4-for-8 showing. All told, Freeport (2-1 on the year) accrued 441 yards on offense while running almost double the number of plays as Holmes County (1-2).
Bonifay split its attack three ways, with Stetson Edwards edging out his compatriots Justice Bice and Michael Paul with 109 rushing yards on eight carries to their 95 yards and 84 yards on the ground. Edwards scored two touchdowns and Bice three, one of which was a 48-yard pass from QB Shane Sellers, who went 3-for-9 for 69 yards through the air, though he had an interception too.
Freeport got off to a great start, working downfield from its own 36-yard line, punching in the first score of the game in eleven plays. Seay took a dive across the line for six points, and kicker Zack Johnson jogged in for two more with most of the first quarter still the play. The sides each had to punt once, but Holmes County coughed up the ball on the Freeport 25 to close out the first period.
Other than another Freeport touchdown – an easy 10-yard run from Decker – in the first couple minutes of the second quarter, the remainder of the first half was a study in deliberate play from both squads. The Devils got on the scoreboard with 3:13 remaining in the half on a 25-yard sprint from Bice, but the point after kick failed, so Freeport went into the locker room at the break with an 8-6 lead.
It’s putting it mildly to say the pace picked up considerably after the intermission, with Holmes County striking first. Bonifay made a clutch defensive stand to keep Freeport to its own 11. The Bulldogs punted to the 48, which set up a pass play from Sellers to Bice, who shucked off several sure-thing Freeport tackles to make it a 48-yard touchdown and a tie ballgame with 7:16 to go in the third after he ran in the two-point conversion.
Seven of the next nine possessions ended in touchdowns.
Vinson returned an onside kick to the 42 on Freeport’s next and then three plays later burst up the middle for a score with 6:03 left in the third quarter, and Seay completed the two-point pass to Grant Kennedy for a 22-14 Bulldogs lead. Bice responded with a 40-yard run at 5:14, though the conversion attempt failed to leave Freeport ahead by two points, a lead that Seay lengthened to 29-20 with a 6-yard run 10 plays and four minutes later. Holmes County scored the next two touchdowns, with Edwards getting a 37-yard run on a fake at 1:19 and a massive 61-yarder with 10:27 left in the game, though he was stopped short both times when he made two-point tries.
Freeport got back in the lead at 35-32, with Seay and Decker working tirelessly to force the ball across the line with 6:08 remaining on the clock. Holmes County’s Ray Powell had the kickoff return of his life, running 72 yards for what would end up being the Blue Devils’ final score of the game. Sellers put in the conversion for a 40-35 Bonifay lead with 5:54 to go.
Seay, Decker and Vinson all chipped in on the grueling 10-play series that followed, but it was Weston Bates who hauled in a pass on the 5 from the 31 that really saved Freeport’s bacon. Seay punched the ball in two playes later on a run from the 4 and he completed another pass to Bates for a 43-40 lead with just 1:26 left to play.
The Bulldogs still couldn’t stop the kickoff return, as Bice so gamely demonstrated by sprinting all the way down to the 31. A pass a few plays later got the ball to the 24 on fourth-and-3, but the Freeport defensive line held fast and stopped the run with no gain for the Devils, who had to turn the ball over with 26 seconds left. Seay took a knee to run out the clock and pick up the win.
After a measured, tactical first half, the Bulldogs and the Blue Devils were tied 14-all close to halfway through the third quarter, but it was off to the races after that.
In an apparent disregard for anything but all-out offense, both squads scored four more times before the end of the night on Sept. 11. It was anybody’s game to win in what had become a race against the clock, but it was Freeport that came out on top 43-40 thanks to a stalwart defensive effort that forced a Holmes County turnover on downs with 26 seconds left in the contest. Freeport head coach Jim Anderson had high praise for his troops, who despite allowing the Devils to score 34 points in the second half after holding them to just six in the first, came through when the game was on the line.
“We finished that last drive and we finished on defense,” Anderson said. “It’s as simple as that. We can’t control the scoreboard; we control our effort. Obviously we have some things to work on, but we did enough.”
The ‘Dogs’ discipline was much improved over the past two weeks, when they struggled with penalties, and running back Chris Decker led the charge with 236 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Austin Vinson supplied plenty of backup muscling his way for 67 yards and a touchdown for 10 carries’ worth of work, while quarterback Zack Seay contributed another three touchdowns, 40 rushing yards and 80 yards passing on a 4-for-8 showing. All told, Freeport (2-1 on the year) accrued 441 yards on offense while running almost double the number of plays as Holmes County (1-2).
Bonifay split its attack three ways, with Stetson Edwards edging out his compatriots Justice Bice and Michael Paul with 109 rushing yards on eight carries to their 95 yards and 84 yards on the ground. Edwards scored two touchdowns and Bice three, one of which was a 48-yard pass from QB Shane Sellers, who went 3-for-9 for 69 yards through the air, though he had an interception too.
Freeport got off to a great start, working downfield from its own 36-yard line, punching in the first score of the game in eleven plays. Seay took a dive across the line for six points, and kicker Zack Johnson jogged in for two more with most of the first quarter still the play. The sides each had to punt once, but Holmes County coughed up the ball on the Freeport 25 to close out the first period.
Other than another Freeport touchdown – an easy 10-yard run from Decker – in the first couple minutes of the second quarter, the remainder of the first half was a study in deliberate play from both squads. The Devils got on the scoreboard with 3:13 remaining in the half on a 25-yard sprint from Bice, but the point after kick failed, so Freeport went into the locker room at the break with an 8-6 lead.
It’s putting it mildly to say the pace picked up considerably after the intermission, with Holmes County striking first. Bonifay made a clutch defensive stand to keep Freeport to its own 11. The Bulldogs punted to the 48, which set up a pass play from Sellers to Bice, who shucked off several sure-thing Freeport tackles to make it a 48-yard touchdown and a tie ballgame with 7:16 to go in the third after he ran in the two-point conversion.
Seven of the next nine possessions ended in touchdowns.
Vinson returned an onside kick to the 42 on Freeport’s next and then three plays later burst up the middle for a score with 6:03 left in the third quarter, and Seay completed the two-point pass to Grant Kennedy for a 22-14 Bulldogs lead. Bice responded with a 40-yard run at 5:14, though the conversion attempt failed to leave Freeport ahead by two points, a lead that Seay lengthened to 29-20 with a 6-yard run 10 plays and four minutes later. Holmes County scored the next two touchdowns, with Edwards getting a 37-yard run on a fake at 1:19 and a massive 61-yarder with 10:27 left in the game, though he was stopped short both times when he made two-point tries.
Freeport got back in the lead at 35-32, with Seay and Decker working tirelessly to force the ball across the line with 6:08 remaining on the clock. Holmes County’s Ray Powell had the kickoff return of his life, running 72 yards for what would end up being the Blue Devils’ final score of the game. Sellers put in the conversion for a 40-35 Bonifay lead with 5:54 to go.
Seay, Decker and Vinson all chipped in on the grueling 10-play series that followed, but it was Weston Bates who hauled in a pass on the 5 from the 31 that really saved Freeport’s bacon. Seay punched the ball in two playes later on a run from the 4 and he completed another pass to Bates for a 43-40 lead with just 1:26 left to play.
The Bulldogs still couldn’t stop the kickoff return, as Bice so gamely demonstrated by sprinting all the way down to the 31. A pass a few plays later got the ball to the 24 on fourth-and-3, but the Freeport defensive line held fast and stopped the run with no gain for the Devils, who had to turn the ball over with 26 seconds left. Seay took a knee to run out the clock and pick up the win.