Running the ball for Wortham Bulldogs is Senior Logan Capers during Friday night’s game against Dawson.
The Wortham Bulldogs fell behind 14-0 and stormed back with 41 unanswered points to defeat the Dawson Bulldogs 41-14 at Ed Mitchell Field Friday night.
Wortham won the sixth consecutive meeting between the two schools and held the Dawson offense to 23 yards of total offense following the two quick scores.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 on the season for the first time since 2000 and will head into district play with a winning record.
The Dawson offense scored on the third play of the game when quarterback Justin Gray took the read option up the middle and made some Wortham defenders miss on a 72-yard touchdown run. Devin Mapps scored the two-point conversion and Dawson claimed an 8-0 lead.
Wortham was forced to punt and Dawson took over at their own 28-yard line. Trevon Babers took the end around and raced up the near sideline for the second big play in the first five minutes of the game. The conversion failed and the Dawson Bulldogs extended the lead to 14-0.
The Wortham offense had a chance to score in the first quarter, but a 40-yard field goal attempt fell short. The Wortham defense held and put the offense in Dawson territory. The 35-yard drive ended in five plays with a Zach Jones one-yard touchdown run. Francisco Garcia added the extra point to cut the lead in half at 14-7 with just over ten minutes remaining in the half. Wortham ended the half at the Bulldog six with the same deficit.
Wortham took the second half kickoff and were forced to start the drive on their own four-yard line. Jones had a run of 11 and Stephon Ester ripped up the middle for 20 yards. The drive stalled at their own 36 and Wortham tried a fake punt. Dawson was called for pass interference and the drive stayed alive. On the fourteenth play of the drive, Cole Shivers scored on a four yard run to tie the score at 14-14.
Dawson turned the ball over on downs and the Wortham offense set up in great field position at the Dawson 32. After Jones scrambled for a first down on fourth and five at the 27, Ester went the rest of the way for 18 yards and the score that would give the Wortham Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
Wortham opened up the game in the fourth quarter with 20 points. Cutter Reeves recovered a fumble and the Wortham offense needed only five plays to score on a Jones to Jayce Black 12-yard touchdown pass. They had a drive start near midfield and Jones would later push in for a one-yard score. The final score of the game came on a pass interception by Anthony Perez. He turned it into instant points with the 30-yard touchdown return to close out the scoring at 41-14.
The entire fourth quarter was played in the Dawson end of the field. The was not a single play ran in Wortham territory over the last 18 minutes of clock time.
Ester led all scorers with 104 yards rushing and a touchdown. Jones completed 16 of 24 passes for 129 yards and the touchdown. Jayce Black caught seven passes for 69 yards and the touchdown and Logan Capers added six catches for 43 yards in the win.
Wortham will host the Granger Lions for the final tune-up before district play begins. It is the first time these two teams have battled in school history and the Wortham fans and players are excited with early success of the program. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Scott Batts reporting.
