I think the passing game in the first half was a key point. They were bringing extra men in the box, so it helped open the field up,&8221; said Sweet Water High School head coach Stacy Luker after his team&8217;s 39-7 win over Wadley High School.

And behind the big passing game was the arm of Bulldog quarterback Drew Luker, who was 7-of-14 for 127 yards in the Bulldog Bowl in the quarterfinal game of the state playoff. All of Luker&8217;s yards through the air came in the first half and included two touchdowns.

In fact, Luker was involved in the first touchdown of the game on Sweet Water&8217;s third offensive play when he tossed a screen pass to Butch Williams, who then proceeded to run 25 yards to the end zone. The second score of the game was also the result of a Luker throw and catch, this time hooking up with Scottie Nelson off a 20 yard throw followed by a 30 yard scramble to the end zone.

Along with providing yards and points in the air, Luker helped the Bulldogs move the chains with some offensive production on the ground. He ran the ball eight times in the game for 51 yards.

To wrap up his contributions for the Bulldogs, Luker also went above and beyond on defense. On the First Wadley play following his touchdown throw to Nelson, Luker picked off a pass from Wadley quarterback Trey Fetner and returned it for 20 yards.

&8212; Brandon Glover