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Overtime kick wins game
Playing in front of 4,000 fans, enjoying the free football that is overtime, Mark Lambert calmly nailed a 20-yard field goal to send the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals for only the third time in school history. It was the first time a kicker for the Bulldogs had that big of an impact on a game since Gillis made his state record kicks in 1923. "I felt like when the game went to overtime that we had a very good chance," Coach Allan Floyd said. "I saw the look in our kids eyes and knew we had a shot. "It's tough when one of your senior leaders is hobbled," he added. "But others stepped up and did what it took to allow us to play next week." Winfield had the ball first in the extra period and CCHS defensive end Ronnie Osborne ended that drive with an interception on third down. The Bulldogs moved the ball down to the 3-yard line on their possession when Lambert kicked the game winner on fourth down from the 3-yard line, sending H.G. Prim Stadium into bedlam on the home side and dejection on the visiting side. In the first quarter the Bulldog special teams forced two Winfield fumbles inside Pirate territory with Leevon Davis and Dwayne Owens coming up with the loose pigskins. But the offense was able to convert on either occasion. Early in the second quarter Marcus Carthage picked off a Bulldog pass and returned it to the WHS 35-yard line. On the very first play Jerome Ivory smothered another Pirate fumble, giving the ball back to Clarke County. The Bulldogs were unable to move the ball and Tim Barnett's punt buried the Pirates at their own 8-yard line. From there the Winfield offense put together a nine play, 92-yard scoring drive. Evan Fuqua capped the long drive with a 15-yard run. QB Zach Townley ran in the 2-point conversion and Winfield led 8-0 with 3:20 to go in the half and remained that as the team went into the break. Winfield had the first possession of the second half and again put together another scoring drive. This one covered 45-yards in seven plays and was aided by a 15-yard CCHS penalty. Fuqua scored his second TD of the night on a 3-yard blast. Carthage added the 2-point conversion, giving the Pirates a huge 16-0 advantage with 8:16 left in the period. It looked like they may add to the lead as Townley intercepted the pass on the first play of the ensuing drive at the Winfield 38-yard line. But on the second play, Ronnie Osborne tipped Townley's pass and Leevon Davis snatched it from the air and returned it to the WHS 20- yard line. Two plays later Barnett found daylight through the middle and scored on a 19-yard run. Tyler Walker flipped the conversion pass to Justin Robinson as the Bulldogs cut the lead in half 16-8 with 6:11 left in the period. Townley ended yet another CCHS drive in the period with an interception at the Pirate 23-yard line. Again the state's top defense forced another turnover as Ivory recovered a fumble on the second play of the drive. The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs just four plays into the fourth quarter. Winfield's offense then ate up almost seven minutes of the clock before punting the ball back to the Bulldogs. With just 2:45 left in the game the CCHS offense started at their own 22-yard line. Walker hit Barnett with a 36-yard gain and then Barnett reeled off a 28-yard run to put the ball at the Pirate 15-yard line. From there Walker weaved his way through the Winfield defense for the Bulldog touchdown. He then ran in the game tying 2-point conversion and with 2:09 left in the game, the score was knotted at 16- 16. Winfield took the ball and drove down to the CCHS 8-yard line and with 4.2 seconds left in the game, saw kicker Mark Thompson's 25- yard field goal attempt far wide and short, sending the game into over- time. "I am extremely proud of these players," Floyd said. "The way they came back from a 16-point deficit and found a way to win…what can you say?" "Hopefully they can do that again in the future," he added. Barnett paced the CCHS defense with 79 yards on 11 carries and caught three passes for 70 yards. Walker was 5-of-10 passing for 78 yards. Winfield was led by Carthage who had 64 yards on eight carries. Thompson added 57 yards on 16 carries. Fuqua had 40 yards on nine carries and a pair of scores. Townley was 4-of-14 passing for 95 yards. This was the second game won by the Bulldogs in overtime this season. The first was a 22-21 win over county foe Jackson in the fifth week of the regular season. In that game they completed a 2-point conversion to edge the Aggies. The Bulldogs (12-0) advance to the quarter-finals for just the third time in score history as well as posting the most wins ever by one team. They will take to the road as they face Calera (11-1) in Shelby County. Calera beat Gordo 13-0 last week. Game time is 7 p.m. Charter bus scheduled
A fan bus will be leaving CCHS on Friday at 2 p.m. at a cost of $15 per person. If you are interested in riding the bus call Mattie Taite at 275- 8573 or 769-5110 by Thursday night.
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