By Morgan Bryce
Staff Reporter
A stellar defensive performance and reliable rushing attack helped Beulah cruise 46-0 over region rival Central of Coosa County Friday night.
With the win, Beulah’s second, the Bobcats have matched their combined win total from the past two seasons. Beulah head football coach Cody Flournoy said he is excited to see his plans for the program start to blossom.
“Both those teams (1A Spring Garden and Central-Coosa County) beat us last year, and I’m like, ‘yeah we should beat them.’ But people are telling me, ‘coach, you don’t understand. We lost to both of those teams last year,’” Flournoy said. “Just me understanding where the program is and where it has been … this is what we’re supposed to be doing.”
The most notable stat from the night was not the shutout, but the goose egg that Coach Stan Pepper’s defense put on the stat sheet. The Bobcats held the Cougars to -38 yards rushing and only 38 through the air.
Junior defensive end Isaiah Glidewell led the Bobcat defense with 9 tackles (three for a loss) and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Caden Dowdell, Jackson Blanton and K.C. Moore each had 8,7 and 6 tackles, respectively.
“I give a lot of credit to Coach Pepper and the defensive staff. We played good football defensively, but they had bad snaps and their quarterback was running for his life,” Flournoy said. “But anytime we needed to make a play, we did.”
Offensively, the Bobcats were led by strong showings from senior quarterback Nolan Earle and running back Phillip Saylor.
Earle finished 5-of-7 through the air for 86 yards and two TDs, and rushed 6 times for 72 yards and a score. Saylor, a senior transfer from Ballard Christian and backup to Dowdell, finished with 5 carries for 42 yards and his first touchdown. Seniors Tez Turner and Justin Fell each added scores.
The Bobcats, 2-2 (0-2 in region), will travel to non-region Wadley this Friday night. Flournoy said the 4-1 Wadley squad will present a major challenge to his Bobcats.
“Wadley will be a good game – they’ll be a tough test for us. They play good football, have good athletes and are well coached,” Flournoy said. “We want to play well, because it’s the next game, but we gotta win some region games. Wadley’s not a region game, but we’re still going to go hard and we’re not going to let up.”
Kickoff against Wadley is set for 7 p.m. WHS is located at 105 Bailey St. in Wadley.