The Wortham Bulldogs with four wins would clinch a third-place finish in District 10-2A Division II and the first ever meeting with the Goldthwaite Eagles proved a tough test. The Bulldogs left with a 44-36 win in “The Graveyard” Friday night.
The teams exchanged possessions and ended in punts, but the Bulldogs put the first points on the board. On the second play of the drive, Black dropped back to pass and found senior all-purpose athlete Kymani Johnson. He caught the pass and took care of the rest, completing a 73-yard touchdown. The run for two was no good and the Bulldogs led 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Eagles matched the score on their final possession of the first quarter. The running of Landry Sanderson and Luke Sanderson put the Eagles in scoring position. Quarterback Aidyn Lee completed a third down pass to Zachary Rodriguez and Landry Sanderson finished the drive with a bruising eight-yard touchdown run to tie the score after the missed point after.
The Bulldog offense answered at the end of the first quarter. In the final minute, senior quarterback Jon Ross Black ran up the middle for 37 yards and Johnson finished the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run and Black added the conversion run and led 14-6 after the first quarter.
EARNING AWARDS AT Friday night’s game against Goldthwaite, are Wortham Bulldogs James Johnson (Defensive Player of the Game) and Kymani Johnson (Offensive Player of the Game). Way to go guys! (Courtesy Photo)
Wortham forced a punt on the first possession of the second quarter. The Bulldog passing game was outstanding on the drive, completing all five passes. Black threw one to James Johnson for 22 yards and then Bean for 11 yards and he also caught the 15-yard touchdown pass with five minutes remaining in the half. Black passed to Lance Jones for the conversion and the Bulldogs had their largest lead of the game at 22-6.
Landry Sanderson scored his second touchdown of the game to answer the Wortham touchdown. Casen Wiedebusch caught the conversion, and the Eagles cut the lead to 22-14.
Goldthwaite took their first possession of the second half and tied the score. Luke Sanderson began the drive with a 21-yard burst and Landry Sanderson added a 19-yard tun. Late in the drive, Luke Sanderson lined up at quarterback and pushed his way in for the one-yard touchdown. Rodriguez ran in the conversion and tied the game at 22-22 with 9:05 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs answered with their first possession of the second half. Black went back to the passing attack and Bean caught a 23-yard pass and threw a 24-yard pass to Charlie Cortes to convert a fake punt. Black threw a jump ball to James Johnson, and his big frame hauled it in and set the Bulldogs at the Eagle four. Kymani Johnson ran the final four yards and Wortham took a 30-22 lead on the Johnson conversion run.
The Eagles scored on their second time with the ball and needed only four plays and Luke Sanderson finished the drive with a seven-yard run to cut the lead to 30-28. The conversion pass was no good.
The Wortham offense needed only one play to put their lead back to eight. Black passed to Bean and his great catch completed a 72-yard touchdown. The conversion run failed, and the Bulldogs led 36-28, heading into the fourth quarter.
Wortham had to punt to open the fourth quarter and Goldthwaite set their possession to tie the score. The six play drive, all on the ground, ended on a Landry Sanderson scored on a three-yard run. Wiedebusch caught the conversion pass to tie the score at 36-36 midway through the final quarter.
The Bulldog offense had half the quarter to regain the lead, and they only needed one play. Bean ran up the sideline and hauled in the long pass and he converted it to a 67-yard touchdown. James Johnson caught the conversion pass, and the Bulldogs had the 44-36 lead with 5:50 remaining.
Goldthwaite converted a key third down to move into scoring position as the final minutes ticked off the clock. They reached the Bulldog 46-yard line and missed on a fourth down pass. Wortham took over and faced a third and short as the Eagles burned their timeouts. Black pushed for the first down and ran off the final seconds for a crucial district win.
The Mart Panthers led District 10-2A Division II with the Bremond Tigers a game back. Goldthwaite and Wortham are tied for third, but the Bulldog win put the tiebreaker in their favor. Chilton and Frost are still alive in the playoff chase. Wortham will host the Chilton Pirates on Friday night and can clinch third with a win.
(Courtesy Photo)
