HEFLIN - Early in this 4A region game, the Anniston Bulldogs and Cleburne County Tigers were two strong and evenly matched teams. Despite an early touchdown by the Tigers’ Christopher Ervin, the Bulldogs took advantage of their strong running back Troymaine Pope to overwhelm the Tigers with a 49-35 final score.
“He’s just outrunning us” said Tiger head coach Michael Shortt. The 5’9” 137-pound Pope racked up 174 yards in the first half alone, including an 81-yard touchdown run and a subsequent 2-point conversion halfway through the second quarter to give Anniston an 8-point lead.
The Tigers quickly answered back with a 39-yard rush by Rocky Hayes to set up a drive that slowly wore down the Bulldog defense. With 13 seconds left in the second quarter, Hayes made a dramatic dive into the end-zone to put Cleburne County within 2 points of Anniston. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Tigers had tied the game 14-14 by the half.
The second half was a much different story as both offenses, defenses, and even special teams pulled out all the stops. Pope again stole the show for the Bulldogs in a mere 47 seconds with 65 yards in 2 plays to put Anniston up by 7.
The Tigers then took the ball at their own 20-yard line, but after an unsuccessful drive deep in their own territory were forced to punt. The 6’4” 261-pound Anniston senior Jeremy Thomas got his arms up and blocked the punt to put Anniston at the Tigers’ 1-yard line. The Bulldogs easily capitalized on this field position to gain a healthy 14-point lead. 14 seconds later, Cleburne County returned a long kickoff for a touchdown, reducing the Anniston lead by 7.
The Tigers continued to gain yards and points against the Bulldog defense both on the ground and in the air, including a 35-yard pass to Alexander Lee and rushes by Christopher Ervin, Antonine Phillips, and sophomore Christian Henson which set up a 2-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Matthew Norton. The Cleburne County offense managed 7 first-downs in the second half (compared to 2 by Anniston) but their defense was only able to shut down the Troymaine Pope running game on a single drive early in the 3rd quarter.
When asked how the Tiger defense could stop Pope, Coach Shortt simply replied by saying “we’ve got to tackle better. That’s what it comes down to; blocking and tackling.”
“He’s just outrunning us” said Tiger head coach Michael Shortt. The 5’9” 137-pound Pope racked up 174 yards in the first half alone, including an 81-yard touchdown run and a subsequent 2-point conversion halfway through the second quarter to give Anniston an 8-point lead.
The Tigers quickly answered back with a 39-yard rush by Rocky Hayes to set up a drive that slowly wore down the Bulldog defense. With 13 seconds left in the second quarter, Hayes made a dramatic dive into the end-zone to put Cleburne County within 2 points of Anniston. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Tigers had tied the game 14-14 by the half.
The second half was a much different story as both offenses, defenses, and even special teams pulled out all the stops. Pope again stole the show for the Bulldogs in a mere 47 seconds with 65 yards in 2 plays to put Anniston up by 7.
The Tigers then took the ball at their own 20-yard line, but after an unsuccessful drive deep in their own territory were forced to punt. The 6’4” 261-pound Anniston senior Jeremy Thomas got his arms up and blocked the punt to put Anniston at the Tigers’ 1-yard line. The Bulldogs easily capitalized on this field position to gain a healthy 14-point lead. 14 seconds later, Cleburne County returned a long kickoff for a touchdown, reducing the Anniston lead by 7.
The Tigers continued to gain yards and points against the Bulldog defense both on the ground and in the air, including a 35-yard pass to Alexander Lee and rushes by Christopher Ervin, Antonine Phillips, and sophomore Christian Henson which set up a 2-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Matthew Norton. The Cleburne County offense managed 7 first-downs in the second half (compared to 2 by Anniston) but their defense was only able to shut down the Troymaine Pope running game on a single drive early in the 3rd quarter.
When asked how the Tiger defense could stop Pope, Coach Shortt simply replied by saying “we’ve got to tackle better. That’s what it comes down to; blocking and tackling.”
