Sulphur Moves To 3-0 With Another High Level Effort; Begin District 3A-2 Play Friday Hosting Perkins-Tryon
In a span of about 13 minutes of the first half, the Sulphur Bulldogs scored on six consecutive possessions and were in defensive lockdoown mode as they swamped Cache (0-3) last Friday, 42-7.
By the end of the first half, the game was essentially over, as the Dogs moved to 3-0 on the season heading into their first district game this Friday at home against Perkins-Tryon.
The Dogs didn’t score on their first possession, but they lit up the scoreboard on their next six to take full control of the Class 4A Cache Bulldogs by halftime.
“I was very pleased with how we handled business at Cache last week,” said head Sulphur coach, Corey Cole. “When you go on your first really long away game you always worry about how the kids will be effected by leaving earlier and making changes to the normal game-day routine. Cache was a 2-hour and 15-minute trip, and we were very pleased with how these guys handled it like a business trip.”
Cole cited quarterback Kale Brakefield, who ignited his team with a big passing and running night, along with receivers Maddax Mobly, Bridge Barrett and Drake Wood, and the running of JoJo Gray.
Brakefield’s big night included 10 for13 in passing for 319 yards and 4 TD’s. His primary targets were Bridge Barrett, who hauled in 4 passes for 116 yards and 2 TD’s, Drake Wood, who had a big 67-yard TD reception, and Maddax Mobly, who had a 75yard TD reception. Jojo Gray added 72 rushing yards on nine attempts and scored 2 TD’s.
Sulphur’s offense proved too strong for Cache, who had lost close battles to Altus and Duncan in the two weeks leading up to Friday night’s clash of the two Bulldog teams.
The Bulldog offense racked up nearly 470 yards of offense in the first half alone.
“The offensive line continued playing very well and its improvement has been tremendous over the past three weeks,” said Cole. “Jackson Haggard and Lucas Mitchell came in and ran the ball very effectively in the second half and we were really pleased with our second o-line unit. The second half was a running clock and we didn’t get all the snaps we would like for those guys but we were very pleased with the production.”
Leading 42-0 just before half, Cache took advantage of a mix-up in the Sulphur defensive backfield and scored on a 50-yard pass play, but that was it for the Bulldogs out west.
“Defensively we played very well,” said Cole. “I thought our guys played relentless and physical and did a great job making checks and adjustments versus the different looks that Cache gave us. We gave up one TD pass for 50 yards where we had a busted coverage, but outside of that, the defensive unit was really solid, only allowing 133 total yards (50 on the long pass and 42 in the second half).”
The Dogs had 10 tackles for losses on the night which kept Cache behind the chains for most of the evening.
Kash Pickett led the team with 13 tackles, two of those for a loss and a sack. Cooper Cole also had a great night at defensive end, registering eight tackles, one tackle for loss, a caused fumble and a fumble recovery. Madden Duck got in on nine tackles and Jaden McClure had eight tackles for the Bulldog defense.
“The Bulldog front seven played really well controlling the line of scrimmage, and I thought the secondary did a great job of tackling,” said Cole.
Sulphur started off the game from their own 35, but bogged down after picking up a first down, and were stopped short of a first down attempt on fourth down.
Dogs
From there on, however, it was all Sulphur.
The Dogs held Cache on their next possession and forced a punt.
Taking over at their own 25, Brakefield hit Mobly on a 75-yard scoring strike to give Sulphur an early lead with 8:30 left in the first quarter. Colten Cole’s PAT kick was good.
Cache completed a 10-yard pass on their next possession, but were forced to punt several plays later, the Dogs taking over at their own 40 after a nifty return by Mobly.
On first down, Dog tight end, Colten Cole, hauled in a 21-yard pass from Brakefield to start the drive. Brakefield then found Barrett on a 16-yard pass and Gray negotiated the final 10 yards to the end-zone to give Sulphur a two-score lead, 14-0. Cole’s PAT kick was good.
The Dog’s Picket and Dylan Gleason then combined for two consecutive big plays on defense on Cache’s next series, and the foes were forced to punt one play later.
Brakefield, backed up to the 21-yard line after the punt, fired off a 12-yard strike to Colten Cole on first down, then hit Wood on a 67-yard gem to give the Dogs a three-score lead after Cole’s PAT, 21-0.
The Dogs continued their onslaught after Cooper Cole caused and recovered a fumble on the kickoff at the Cache 35.
Brakefield then found Barrett on a 35-yard scoring strike and the Dogs were off to the races. Cole’s PAT upped Sulphur’s lead to 28-0 with 11:33 left in the second period.
Sulphur made it a five-touchdown lead after holding Cache on their ensuing series and forcing a punt.
Taking over at their own seven, Mobly ripped off a 22-yard run to begin a long series. The Dogs had to overcome three major penalties, but Brakefield found a seam and raced 34 yards for a first down to give his team new life. From the 30, Gray blasted down to the 15, then got into the end-zone on the next play to give Sulphur a 35-0 lead after Angel Rios’ PAT kick with 6:13 left in the second period.
Cache finally got on the board on their next series after a 52-yard pass play but that was it for them.
The Dogs responded with a 61-yard drive in just three plays to take a commanding 42-7 lead with 2:55 left in the second period.
Colten Cole ignited the drive, catching a 20-yard Brakefield pass, then Barrett sealed the deal with a 50-yard scoring strike from Brakefield. Rios provided the PAT to give the Dogs the final score of 42-7.
In the second half, younger Sulphur players were given quality time as the clock continued to tick down.
“All in all, it was a good team win against a 4A opponent that should make the playoffs in their district,” said Cole. “I feel like we got better in each of our three non-district games and improved in lots of areas over that time. I feel like these guys are doing a great playing as a team, we have a bunch of selfless guys that only care about the Bulldogs winning and getting better. They have been focused on the little things and attention to detail and it has paid off to this point,” he concluded.
THE STATISTICS
Sulphur 424, Cache 7
Scoring Summary Sulphur (7-0)--Maddax Mobly 75-Yard TD Pass (Colten Cole kick) 1st Q, 8:30 Sulphur (14-0)--JoJo Gray 10-Yard Run (Cole kick) 1st Q, 3:38 Sulphur (21-0)--Drake Wood 67-Yard TD Pass (Cole Kick) 1st Q, 1:00 Sulphur (28-0)--Bridge Barrett 35-Yard TD pass (Cole Kick) 2nd Q, 11:33 Sulphur (35-0)--Gray 51-Yard TD Run (Angel Rios kick) 2nd Q, 6:13 Cache (35-7)--D. Frazier 52-Yard TD Pass (kick good) 2nd Q, 3:48 Sulphur (42-7)--Barrett 40-Yard TD Pass (Rios kick) 2nd Q, 2:55 Score By Quarters
Sulphur ............. 21 21 0 0--42 Cache ................ 0 7 0 0--7
Game Statistics Sul. Cache First Downs......... 17 5 Rushing Yds. ...... 243 61 Passing Yds. ....... 319 72 Total Net Yds. ..... 562 133 Passes ................ 10-13 8-10 Interceptions ....... 0 0 Turnovers............ 0 1 Punts, Avg. ......... 0 7 3rd Down Con. .... 3-4 2-12
Sulphur Individual Statistics
Passing: Kaly Brakefield, 10-13, 319 Yds., 4 TDs Receiving: Maddax Mobly, 1-75, Colten Cole, 1-15, Drake Wood 1-67, Bridge Barrett 4-116, Carter cole 3-46.
Rushing: Maddax Mobly, 4-38, 2 TDs; JoJo Gray 9-72, Carter Cole 1-6, Kale Brakefield 1-34, Lucas Mitchell 3-31, Jackson Haggard 7-62.
Sulphur Team Statistics
Rushing Yards 243; Passing Yards 319; Total 38 plays - 562 yards. Turnovers: 0 Sacks Given Up: 0 Punts: 0 Ex. Pt: Colten Cole, 4-4; Angel Rios, 2-2.
Sulphur Tackles
Maddax Mobly 2, Carter Cole 3, 5, Jaden McClure 7, Cooper Cole 8, Madden Duck 9, Traber Sartors 2, Dylan Gleason 4, Kash Pickett 13, Connor Sullivan 2, George Martinez 1, Grady Hardoin 1, Drake Wood 3, Rush Pittman 3, Kale Brakefield 1, Garin Watson 3, Landon Woods 3, Thomas Jackson 3, Mavric Lawrence 2, Aylr Dixon 4, Jaxon Freehill 3, Braxtyn Euchler 1, Angel Rios 1, Traber Sartors 2, Brody Wallace 1, Jackson Haggard 4.
