By Wil Crews
sportscrews@opelikaobserver.com
Looking to get their second win of the season in as many weeks, the Beulah Bobcats (1-6) traveled to face the Dadeville Tigers (6-3) on Friday but were undone by big plays and bounced from Tiger Stadium with a 41-0 defeat.
It was a tough night all around for Beulah as the Bobcats struggled to get anything going on offense while the Tigers took a 20-0 lead before their offense even took the field.
Beulah was forced to punt on the first possession of the game and that’s when the Tigers began their big play bombardment. Dadeville’s Philstavious Dowdell returned the punt 55 yards for the score. Things quickly soured for the Bobcats, as their next two offensive possessions ended in two Dadeville pick six’s.
The Tigers put pressure on Beulah quarterback Kaleb Abney all night and limited him and the Bobcat offense to just 30 yards of passing. Abney did find some success running the ball, finishing with 15 carries for 40 yards.
After falling into a three score deficit, the Beulah defense finally had their opportunity to make their mark on the game. However, the Tigers had more big plays in store.
After Beulah were denied on their only red zone trip of the night, Dadeville closed out the half on offense with a 96-yard drive. A 50-yard passing touchdown gave the Tigers a 34-0 lead at the break.
Coming out of the half, Dadeville would receive the ball and Beulah were hopeful to put up more of a fight in the last two quarters. However, the Tigers had other plans and the final big play of Dadeville’s night came on the ensuing kickoff. Dowdell returned the second half kickoff 80 yards for his second special teams score of the night to give Dadeville the 41-0 lead that they would see out from there.
The win clinched the first playoff berth for Dadeville since 2015. Beulah’s side of things was bleak and there were few bright spots. T.J Washington had 16 carries for 40 yards and two of Abney’s passes found Thet Morris for 25 yards. Morris also led the defense with four tackles on the night. Speaking of defense, they did their best to keep things close – at least on the stat sheet. The Bobcats held the Tigers to 184 yards of total offense, but that still far outgained Beulah’s 98 total yards.
Beulah finishes what has been a difficult regular season next week in a non-region away game against LaFayette (4-4). The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at 214 1st Ave SE, LaFayette, Alabama 36862.