Coach Trey Pike's debut as Ashville's head football coach did not disappoint, especially in terms of excitement. The Bulldogs pulled out a nail biter against the Ragland Purple Devils by a score of 33-32 that had the crowd on the edge of their seat for the entire second half. "We don't always like a squeaker, but at the end of the day, a win is a win, and we came out on top. We fought; we have a lot of corrections to make, but once we do, I think we have a chance to be a really good team." Pike said about his team's performance.
The story of the evening was the explosive offenses of both teams. The Bulldogs struck first with a 13 yard run by Derrick Walker to go up 7-0. Ragland responded, but Ashville jumped out to a 21-6 lead early in the game. Just as it looked like Ashville could be running away with the game, Ragland scored back-to-back touchdowns of 65 and 80 yards each to make the halftime score 21-20.
The Bulldogs traded scores yet again with the Devils in the 3rd quarter to set up an exciting finish to the game. Down 33-32 late in the game, Ragland had the ball with a chance to drive down the field and win the game. The Bulldog defense would have none of that. They stopped Ragland on-downs to seal the win.
Most of Ashville's offense in the game came on the ground with 305 total rushing yards. QB Landon Cornutt had 21 rushes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. He also went 16 of 27 for 153 yards passing. RB Ty Armstrong also contributed 103 yards on 24 touches.
Ashville will host region opponent Anniston at Kin Logan Stadium this Friday night. Anniston fell to Sylacauga by a score of 17-6. "We're gonna have to practice with a lot of discipline this week," Pike said. "The more discipline you practice with - the better chance you have to beat these kids that are just overly athletic, and that's gonna give us the best chance to win."
Perkins Carden is a junior at Ashville High School and Senior Writer for www.AshvilleAthletics.com
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