The Wortham Bulldogs had five drives end in Dawson territory but with no points and Wortham lost to Dawson 28-12 in a battle for second place in District 11-2A Division II.
Wortham clinched a playoff spot last week for the first time since 2012 and will take on the Lovelady Lions on Thursday in Centerville in the bi-district round.
Wortham had the first possession and converted twice on third and fourth down by drawing the Dawson defense offsides to move the chains. The reached the goal line and fumbled, but maintained possession and could not convert a fourth down pass.
Dawson has played ball control all season and went to work and used up the remaining time on the first quarter clock to move away from the three yard line. On the 13th play of the drive, Jakoby Moore took the handoff and raced 35 yards for the touchdown to complete the 97 yard drive and take a 6-0.
Wortham moved the ball inside the Dawson 30 on the next drive that ended with Brandon Coker throwing only his second interception all season to the five yard line. Moore picked it off and returned it to midfield and the Dawson offense returned to the field.
Dawson needed five plays, a key pass interference penalty to put points on the board. Brendan Horner scored on the two yard push into the endzone and the lead grew to 12-0.
Wortham put together an effective drive to cut the lead in half. Coker had the majority of the runs on the drive and he completed a screen pass to Clayton Munster and he rumbled for 18 yards down to the two yard line. Coker capped the drive with a two yard run and the conversion failed and the Wortham Bulldogs trailed 12-6 at the half.
Wortham forced a punt on the first Dawson possession of the second half and quickly moved into Dawson territory. On fourth down, Coker threw his second interception of the night down to the goal line and Isaiah Johnson picked it off and returned to the 24 yard line. Facing a third and long, Horner looked downfield and found Da-mariyea Hamilton running wide open and the pass covered 63 yards and the lead grew to 20-6 on the Hamilton conversion run.
Dawson stopped a drive on fourth down at their own 34 yard line and put their offense back in charge. The seven play, 66 yard drive ended with a Ja-mariyea Hamilton 23 yard run for the touchdown. James Drake added the conversion run and the hometown Bulldogs were ahead 28-6.
Wortham had another long drive in the next possession but they were three scores behind. The 69 yard drive needed 12 plays and Wortham converted a key third down with another offsides penalty by Dawson on the snap count. Coker had runs of 18 and 15 and finished with a two yard plunge into the endzone. The conversion pass was no good and Wortham had cut the lead to 28-12.
The Wortham defense got a stop on fourth and long and had an opportunity to get points before the night ended. The Bulldog offense committed a holding penalty, but the next play Coker connected with Munster and covered 17 yards to set up a third and five. The final two passes ended the game, the final on the third interception by the Dawson defense on the night, sealing the win.
The Wortham Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 7-3 record. It is the first winning season since 2004 when they also had seven wins. They finish the season with a perfect 6-0 record at home for the first time since they were 5-0 in 1999.
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
