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The Sweet Water Bulldogs traveled to Grove Hill this past Friday to take on the Clarke County High School (CCHS) Bulldogs. Although there were some seemingly questionable calls by officials that cost Sweet Water yards or points, the Bulldogs came away with a 41-28 win.

Clarke County got things going first and quickly moved down the field in the opening moments of the game. With 10:41 on the first quarter clock, Clarke County got on the scoreboard first with a 22-yard touchdown pass from TaMyus Pugh to DaMyon Horn. The PAT kick from Lucas Kelly was good, putting the Clarke County Bulldogs up 7-0.

Not to be outdone, Sweet Water Bulldogs got on the board near the end of the first quarter after pushing past the CCHS defense to the goal line. Deshanard Blanks ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown to put the Marengo based Bulldogs on the board. The extra-point kick by David Etheridge was good, and the game was tied at 7-7 with 4:03 to play in the first quarter.

Sweet Water began the second quarter with the ball at the Clarke County 49-yard line where they struggled to move the ball against the Clarke County defense. The Bulldogs were forced to punt the ball away with 11:51 on the clock and Clarke County took over at their own 18-yard line.

The Clarke County Bulldogs tried to make a pass downfield, but the ball was tipped and intercepted by Sweet Water and taken all the way back to the 1-yard line. The very next play saw Timothy Kelley run it in for Sweet Water with 9:28 on clock. The extra point attempt by Etheridge was good, giving Sweet Water its first lead at 14-7.

Clarke County received the ball back at their 40-yard line, but were unable to make much headway and were forced to punt it away. Sweet Water took over at their 42-yard line with 7:47 to go in the first half.

The last score of the first half came when Sweet Water’s Nate Norris completed a 48-yard pass to David Etheridge with 4:19 left on the clock. The Clarke County Bulldogs blocked the extra point kick, leaving the score at 20-7.

The third quarter began quickly with Sweet Water barely giving anyone time to get settled before Elliot Lucy ran the opening kickoff back to the Clarke County 10-yard line. Lucy then ran the ball into the endzone for the score with 11:35 to go in the third quarter. Etheridge’s PAT kick was good, upping the Sweet Water lead to 27-14.

Clarke County refused to go away however, and responded aggressively to the Sweet Water score. With 9:48 to go in the third, Andre Ezell bolted 18-yards to the endzone for the score. The PAT by Kelly was good, and the Clarke County Bulldogs cut into the Sweet Water lead 27-14.

The two teams traded possessions before Sweet Water got the ball back with 2:38 left in the third quarter. Despite being pinned at their own 16-yard line, Sweet Water outmaneuvered Clarke County and Ethan Carr flew down the field for an 80-yard touchdown run. Etheridge’s PAT kick was no good, making 33-14 with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Clarke County scored in the opening moments of the fourth quarter when Pugh completed a 29-yard pass to Camryn Mitchell with 11:49 in the fourth quarter. The PAT by Kelly was good, making the score 33-21.

Elliot Lucy scored the last touchdown for Sweet Water on a 68-yard run with 10:40 to play in the game. The two-point conversion run also by Lucy was good, putting Sweet Water up 41-21.

The final score of the game was a 1-yard run by Pugh with 5:51 remaining on the game clock. The PAT by Kelly was good, making the final score 41-28.

With the win, the Bulldogs move to 1-0 on the season. Sweet Water will be at home this Friday where they will take on long-time rival Thomasville.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Nolan Atkins Stadium.