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SWHS beat MHS 46-36; advances to Super Six
The defense forced four turnovers, two were taken back for touchdowns and another one led to another score. Maplesville's Red Devils had the ball first and scored when QB Marcus Wilson tossed a 35-yard TD pass to Cedric Bailey with 9:50 left in the first quarter. The play came with the Red Devils facing fourthand five. The kick failed but MHS had a 6- 0 lead. The Bulldogs, playing in their second straight semi-final and third in the last four years, answered with a classic Wing-T drive that consisted of 12-plays and ate up 64-yards. Running back Anthony Landrum capped the six-minute drive with a 5-yard plunge. The attempt sailed wide-right, but the game was knotted at 6-6 with 2:37 left in the first period. The SWHS defense forced a punt on the ensuing MHS possession and the Bulldog offense took over at their own 20-yard line. This time Sweet Water took almost six-minutes to cover the 80 yards. On the 12th play of the drive Landrum powered in from 2-yards out. The PAT failed as the Bulldogs doubled their lead to 12-6 with 6:30 left in the first half. Three plays and a Maplesville punt later, Sweet Water had the ball again, this time at their own 25- yard. This time on Landrum found paydirt on the 11th play of the drive. Scottie Nelson converted the PAT and the Bulldogs led 19-6 with :26 seconds left before the break. Maplesville, following a short Bulldog kick-off, had the ball at their own 44-yard line. Wilson tossed an 18-yard completion and then hit Brian Frith with a 38-yard TD pass, with no time left on the clock, to cut into the lead. Wilson flipped the 2-point conversion pass to Bailey and the Bulldog lead was cut 19-14 at the end of the half. In the third quarter both squads traded punts before the Bulldogs took over at their own 26-yard line. The offense gave the Red Devils a hearty helping of Anthony Landrum as the senior carried the ball on five of the six plays, including the final 5-yards for the score. Nelson made the kick and SWHS extended the lead to 26-14 with 5:06 left in the frame. Maplesville responded by driving 70 yards in seven plays on the ensuing drive. QB Wilson called his own number on a 9-yard keeper to cap the drive and then ran in the 2- point conversion, cutting the lead to 26-22 with 1:24 to go in the period. In the fourth quarter the two teams combined to score 34 points and the turning point in the game came early in the period. First the Maplesville defense stopped SWHS on downs and took over at their own 24-yard line. Three plays later they had the ball at the Bulldog 25-yard line when a fumble ended a potential leadchanging scoring drive. On first play the momentum in the game changed as Anthony Landrum broke off a 43-yard run in which he broke nine tackles, energizing the home crowd. Johnny Lockett scored on the following play with a 30-yard sprint. Nelson's kick increased the lead to 33-22 with 10:00 left in the game. Maplesville fought to come back on the ensuing possession but a Wilson pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage. SWHS' Wes Burnett pulled the pigskin from the air at the 28-yard line and rambled down to the 3-yard line before lateralling the ball to Lockett who carried the final yards for the touchdown. The attempt was no good, but the Bulldog extended their lead to 39-22 with 9:12 left to play. The Red Devils wasted little time in hitting paydirt as Wilson dialed up Andrekus Gardner for a 22-yard touchdown. Wilson completed the 2-point conversion pass to Frith, cutting into the lead 39-30 with 8:12 left. After forcing the Bulldogs to punt Maplesville got the ball back near midfield. But on the second play Delano Brewer intercepted Wilson's pass and returned it 46-yards for the Sweet Water touchdown. Nelson converted the point after touchdown and the Bulldogs had a 46-30 advantage with 5:32 left in the game. Maplesville responded as Wilson threw a 48-yard TD strike to Frith with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter. Drew Luker intercepted the 2- point pass, leaving the score at 46- 36. The on-side kick attempt failed to travel 10-yards and the Bulldogs took over at the Red Devil 43-yard line. From there Sweet Water was able to convert a pair of fourth down plays and run out the clock, preserving the 46-36 semi-final win. Anthony Landrum paced the Sweet Water offense with 194 yards on 30 carries and four TDs. Lockett added 62 yards on four carries and a score. Luker was 6-of-10 passing for 95 yards. He also rushed for 37 yards on nine carries. For Maplesville, Wilson was 17- of-30 passing for 303 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Wilson also ran for 69 yards on 12 carries and a score. Frith caught six passes for 113 yards. This Thursday (today) the Bulldogs (13-0) travel to Birmingham to play Talladega County-Central (14-0) for the Class 1A state title. The Tigers beat Sulligent 13-7 last week in the other semi-final game. Sweet Water will be gunning for the second-straight crown and their third in the last four years.
Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. at Legion Field.
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