Cullman rushes past Blue Devils

By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent

A big and experienced
offensive line allowed Cullman High to run roughshod over Etowah’s football
team Friday night for a 35-8 victory.
The Bearcats (1-1)
accumulated 232 rushing yards, including 166 yards on 24 carries by William
Crenshaw. Crenshaw also caught three passes for 20 yards.
“They’ve got a very good
offensive line, and we knew it coming in,” Etowah coach Drew Noles said.
“We’re very young up there but I’m not making excuses. We got whipped in every phase, starting
with me.”
Cullman put together a
game-opening drive that marched 63 yards on 12 plays, ending with a 7-yard
touchdown pass from Anthony Crocker to Owen Lovell.
“We had a great week of
practice,” Bearcats coach Mark Britton said. “The kids had a great
attitude and it just spilled over into the game.”
Cullman lost to Arab last
week – the first loss to the Knights since 1993.
After the Blue Devils (0-2)
went three-and-out, the Bearcats put together another drive, scoring in six
plays, on a 1-yard run by Crenshaw. With 5:27 left in the
first quarter, it appeared that Cullman might have a rout in store.
With a young (sophomore)
quarterback, you need good play out of the line and you need a good
defense,” Britton said. “We got both tonight.”
However, Etowah settled down
and took a 14-0 deficit into the locker room for halftime.
Opening the third quarter
with a touchdown, it appeared the Blue Devils were still in the game. But
Cullman had other ideas.
Etowah needed only six plays
to score, after getting position at midfield following a good kickoff return by
Paul Ruiz. The score came on a pass from Andy Noles to Stacy Williams from 24
yards out. Noles and Williams also connected for a two-point conversion.
However, an unsportsmanlike
conduct call put the Blue Devils back 15 yards for the kickoff. This gave the
Bearcats good field position and they took advantage, scoring on an 8-yard pass
from Crocker to Lovell with 7:01 left in the
frame. Matthew Bell’s extra point upped the advantage to 21-8. Bell connected
on all five PATs for the game.
Cullman scored again in the
third quarter, on a 2-yard run by Brannon Calvert. The touchdown was secured by
field position again. This time, it was Brontae Harris intercepting a pass and
returning it 45 yards.
The final score came on
another Crocker to Lovell pass, this time from 59 yards away. It came with 4:19 left in the game.