Dogs Dominate Wolves In Second Take Down Of Defending State Champ

Sulphur Goes Hard And Fast In The First Half; Beats Davis, 34-14, In Bedlam Rivalry

The Bulldogs took down their second consecutive defending state champion Friday in a dominating performance at Davis.

Despite a few miscues, Sulphur was again the best team in the series, beating the host Wolves and last year’s 2A-2 champion, 34-14.

“Davis is obviously a very talented team, but I thought our depth and toughness showed throughout,” said head Sulphur coach Corey Cole. “We had plenty of mistakes but our kids played hard and made big plays when we needed them the most.”

Sulphur went hard and fast in the opening quarter, using powerful running and passing to open up a14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Bulldog quarterback Kale Brakefield, playing in his first Bedlam game, connected with Carter Cole on a 15-yard scoring strike to give Sulphur their fist score, midway through the first quarter. Key plays in the drive were a Brakefield to Mobly pass that covered 30 yards and runs of 11 and 13 yards from Jo Jo Gray.

Sulphur defense proved too much for Davis on their ensuing series, forcing a punt to the Bulldog 36.

Brakefield then found Bridge Barrett for a 14-yard pass on Sulphur’s opening play of their next drive, and Grady Hardoin covered the final four yards for a TD as the Dogs were playing fast to start the game.

It was at that point that Sulphur was on the verge of blowing the game wide open after forcing the Wolves to punt on their ensuing series. The punt was a good one, though, ending up the Sulphur 9-yard-line.

The Dogs mishandled the snap on the very next play, however, giving the Wolves and Davis quarterback Dax Owens a virtual gimme from the 2-yard-line. The resulting score and conversion kick cut Sulphur’s lead to seven and gave the Wolves momentum heading into the rest of the second quarter.

Sulphur got deeper into debt on the kickoff after being flagged for holding, setting them back at their own 20. It was at that point the game changed in Sulphur’s favor.

Mobly raced 55 yards on the opening play of the drive, then Gray covered the remaining 25 yards in two plays for the score to give the Dogs a little breathing room.

Cole’s PAT kick gave Sulphur a 21-7 lead with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

Davis responded with their only successful drive of the evening, going 81 yards in 12 plays to get back within seven points, 21-14. The two big plays of the drive were passes of 10 and 37 yards with Owens going in from the one for the TD.

The Dogs got back into hot water on their next drive despite benefiting from several Davis penalties and moving to the Davis 27. But the turnover bug struck and Davis was back in business.

The Wolves couldn’t take advantage of this gift, however, as the Dog’s Bridge Barrett, on the second play of drive, batted away a long Owens’ pass deep into Sulphur territory, forcing a punt one play later.

The Dogs took over at their own 10, and one of the best plays of the night thrilled Sulphur fans as Drake Wood had a highlight reel catch from Brakefield to give the Dogs possession at the Davis 3-yard-line. Mobly then scored from there and Sulphur was now op top, 28-14, just seconds away from the end of the first half.

Sulphur ended the conversation on their opening drive of the second half, going 53 yards in 13 plays as Mobly negotiated the final yard for the score. Big plays of the drive included a 17yard Brakefield to Barrett pass and runs of six and seven yards from Mobly.

Cole missed the PAT, but the final score was set in stone. Sulphur took a 34-14 lead into the remainder of the third and rest of the fourth quarter and never looked back, using strong defense to hold off the Wolves.

Coach Corey Cole praised his team and cited several players for their superb effort.

“Offensively, Kale Brakefield had another solid night throwing the ball and Drake Wood had a big night at wide receiver,” said Cole. “Bridge Barrett, Carter Cole, and Maddax Mobly all had production in the passing game as well. But it was the run game where we established the run early and were able to control most of the game with our ability to run the ball. Maddax and Jojo were both 100-yard rushers on the night, but it was the offensive line that did a tremendous job of opening holes and getting those guys in space. Mobly had two TD runs, Gray added one, and Grady Hardoin added a TD run for the Bulldogs, Brakefield connected with Carter Cole on a TD pass for the first score of the game.”

This could have been one of Sulphur’s best defensive games of the series considering the weapons Davis has at their disposal, said Cole “ I thought we did a really good job on Dax Owens of keeping him under control for the majority of the game,” said Cole. “We handed them an early TD on a turnover that they recovered on the 5-yardline, so they only had 1 TD drive on our defense. We played great third down defense and forced them to punt seven times which is critical in this rivalry game. Michael Morris, our starting middle linebacker, suffered an injury late in the first quarter, and I was proud of how our defense handled the situation and we got better as the night went on. Morris makes all of our checks and calls for the defensive front so when he went out we had to have other guys step up and they did.”

Cole praised Mobly, Kash Pickett, Jaden McClure, Madden Duck, Traber Sartors, Cooper Cole and George Martinez, who he said had great games defensively for the Dogs. “I was really proud of how we played disciplined for most of the game,” he said. “I thought defensively we were dialed in to taking care of our responsibilities. Really thought Pickett and Traber Sartors had their best games as Bulldogs and look for them to continue to grow into their roles on defense.”

Cole ended by saying, “I was super proud of our players and assistant coaches and the best fans and community in the state. We have made lots of mistakes in our first two games that need to be corrected but man our guys are prepared, they play together, and they play fast and physical.”