The Wortham Bulldogs celebrated a big homecoming win on Friday night behind the walls of historic Bulldog Stadium. The 70-14 win over the Meridian Yellowjackets evens the district record with three games remaining in the regular season.
Senior wide receiver Lance Jones made his first start at quarterback while some players were required to sit for a half due to an altercation last Friday night. He led the Bulldog offense to a 38-7 halftime lead before the other players returned to the lineup.
Wortham took the ball and running back Yancey Bean broke away on a 27-yard run, his longest of the season. Following an 18-yard run inside the Yellowjacket ten, senior back Kymani Johnson scored on a seven-yard run to put the Bulldogs in the lead to stay. Jones passed to Johnson for the conversion and the Bulldogs led 8-0.
Ian Gomez returned the kickoff 62 yards to the Wortham 25-yard line, and, on the second play of the drive, Nathan Chasteen popped the ball in the air, and it fell to the ground and Jones covered it for the Meridian turnover.
The Bulldogs turned the turnover into instant points on the drive. Johnson took the handoff and raced up the far sideline for the 79-yard touchdown and the lead swelled to 16-0 when the conversion pass was caught by James Johnson.
Near the end of the first quarter, Kymani Johnson intercepted a Matthew Jones pass and returned it 36 yards to the Yellowjacket 30. On the second play of the quarter, Johnson scored on a three-yard run and caught the conversion pass and the lead grew to a comfortable 24-0.
Meridian did put some points on the board before the half. Receiving thirty yards in penalties on the Bulldog defense, Ricky Shank scored on an 18-yard run and the point after cut the lead to 24-7.
The Bulldogs answered with an impressive drive of nine plays covering 48 yards. Jones passed to Kymani Johnson for 18 yards to convert a third down and Bean finished the drive with a seven-yard run. Jones hit James Johnson for the conversion and the Bulldog lead was 32-7.
A three and out set the Bulldogs for one final score before the half. Bean took the snap and threw a jump ball to James Johnson. Johnson leaped high to grab the ball and completed the 64-yard catch and ran for the touchdown. The conversion failed and the Bulldogs led 38-7 at the half.
Wortham had some players return to the lineup in the second half and the offense continued to shine as it did in the first half. Forcing a three and out for the Yellowjackets, the Bulldogs took over at the 22 yard line. Senior quarterback Jon Ross Black returned to the Bulldog backfield and had a 45-yard run and completed another jump ball pass to James Johnson covering 23 yards to extend the lead to 46-7 on the Black conversion run.
The Yellowjackets could not move the ball and punted, and the Bulldogs needed only three plays to cover 57 yards. Kymani Johnson caught a 32-yard pass and Bean added a nine-yard reception. Black ran in the final eight yards and Bean added the conversion for the 54-7 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Meridian offense scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when both teams agreed to a running clock. Gomez caught an eight-yard touchdown from Jones to cut the lead to 54-14.
The running clock made quick work of the fourth quarter, but Black added two touchdown runs of 35 and 42 yards as the game clock expired.
The Wortham Bulldogs trail the Mart Panthers (4-0), Bremond Tigers (3-1) and Goldthwaite Eagles (3-1) in the district 10-2A Division II standings. They are tied with the Chilton Pirates and will play them in a couple of weeks. Wortham will make their longest trip of the year when they go to Goldthwaite and battle the Eagles in “The Graveyard.”
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
