The Wortham Bulldogs kept their homecoming opponent out the endzone for the second straight season and defeated the Meridian Yellowjackets 44-0 at Bulldog Stadium Friday night.
Wortham is all but clinched a playoff spot at 2-1 with two games remaining in the regular season. Mart and Dawson each had wins over Hubbard and Frost respectively and are 3-0 in district play. The Bulldogs are in third at 2-1 and Frost would be fourth at 1-2. Hubbard and Meridian are winless in district play.
The Bulldogs had some mistakes early or the game could have been a runaway much earlier. Some injured players returned to the lineup for spot work and Wortham played the entire roster and came away with the shutout win.
Meridian used up most of the first quarter on an 11 play drive that stalled on fourth and long near midfield.
Ryken Lewis intercepted a Dylan Poole pass and returned it to midfield to set the Bulldogs in good position. Senior quarterback Brandon Coker returned to the lineup and had a 49 yard run to the one. A couple of penalties backed the Bulldogs to the 11, then Coker scored on the 11 yard run to take the lead. Coker added the conversion for the 8-0 first quarter.
The Bulldogs would break the game open and turn the workload to the underclassmen in the second quarter. Meridian failed to make a first down on a fake punt and Wortham took over at the Meridian 12 yard line. Two quick plays made easy work for the score on a Coker one yard run. He added the conversion and the lead grew to 16-0.
Meridian special teams miscues continued with a 13 yard loss on a bad snap on the punt and Wortham began the second straight drive inside the Meridian 20. The 17- yard drive again needed only two plays when Riley Baker scored on a five yard run. The conversion pass failed and the Bulldogs led 22-0.
The teams exchanged exchanged turnovers on fourth down and Wortham began the final drive of the first half at their 35 yard line. Coker ran for a first down and Clayton Munster converted a third down on a 19 yard run inside the Yellowjacket 25. On fourth down from the 15, Coker found Lane McDaniel in the endzone for the 15 yard scoring pass. The conversion run was no good and the Bulldogs led 28-0 at the half.
The Wortham defense forced a punt and sent the offense back to work. Coker connected with McDaniel again for a 26 yard pass to the Meridian 19 and freshman Tanner Bean finished the drive with the touchdown run. Coker added the conversion run and the lead grew to 36-0.
The game was played with reserves for the remainder of the game but the Bulldog defense continually applied pressure to keep the shutout alive. The final score of the night came off of a turnover when McDaniel intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards to the Meridian 19, making it the third drive of the night beginning inside the Meridian 20. Chance Latham took over backfield duties and scored on a 15 yard run with 5:27 remaining in the game. Lewis passed to Demarcus Bullard for the conversion and the 44-0 final.
Logan Hazel led the Bulldog defense with 21 tackles, six were tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Bullard had 13 tackles, seven for loss, and Dawson Norcross had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery. Kyler Jones also covered a fumble for the Bulldogs.
Wortham returns home for the final time this season with a home game against the Hubbard Jaguars. A Bulldog win could allow them to improve the playoff seeding potential over the next two weeks.
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
