By Wes Mayberry/For Daily Sentintel
Down by five late in the fourth quarter at home, Section put together a potential game-winning drive that ultimately came up short as they suffered a 19-14 loss to Gaston in Class 2A Region 7 play on Friday (Sept. 13).
The Bulldogs (2-1, 1-1) took over at the Section 34-yard line with 5:26 left in the first quarter following a Will Burrow punt from deep in Section territory. Gaston then put together a five-play scoring drive highlighted by runs of 11 and 14 yards from Shai Ogles and capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from Jailyn Britton.
The Bulldogs received the second-half kickoff and began their drive at their own 38-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Ogles took a pitch from quarterback Jordan Douglas around the right side for 24 yards to put the Bulldog offense in SHS territory.
After a 21-yard touchdown run from Jeffrey Collins was called back due to a holding penalty, the Bulldog continued drive culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run from Britton. The ensuing extra point was blocked but the Bulldogs led 13-0.
Chris Manning got the comeback started for Section when he ran 41 yards for a touchdown to put the Lions on the board with 1:03 left in the third quarter. An extra point from Alex Hernandez brought the score to 13-7 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Lions began the final quarter of play down 13-7, but Manning once again came through.
Facing a third-and-four at the GHS 43-yard line, Manning broke several tackles on al run that took him all the way to the end zone with 9:53 left in the third period. The ensuing Hernandez extra point gave the home team a 14-13 lead, but the advantage proved short-lived.
The Bulldog offense responded by stringing together a lengthy nine-play drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock. Each play was a run by either Britton or Collins, and Britton finished the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-two.
Jordan Douglas’ run for the two-point conversion failed, however, and the Bulldogs held a slim 19-14 lead with 5:51 remaining in the game.
The Section offense took over with 5:43 left on the clock. The Lions eventually arrived at the Bulldogs’ 8-yard line with a first-and-goal with 43 seconds left on the clock.
However, the Lionpossession would end there, as Manning was dropped for a five-yard loss on the following play, and Linderman failed to connect with Manning on three straight passes to the end zone.
The Bulldogs took over on downs and took a knee to drain the remaining 20 seconds off the clock.
Britton finished with 11 carries for 79 yards and three scores. Ogles and Collins finished with seven carries for 80 yards and 16 carries for 52 yards, respectively.
Douglas completed 5-of-10 passes for 72 yards, while Ogles had three catches for 47 yards.
Gaston travels to North Sand Mountain on Friday for more region action.