By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
Piedmont brought a lofty N0. 1 ranking to Glencoe this past Friday (Sept. 2), and the top-ranked Bulldogs made a believer out of many local football fans.
The visitors from Calhoun County manhandled the undefeated Yellow Jackets to a tune of 33-0.
The Piedmont defense held Glencoe (2-1, 0-1) to only five first downs and 48 yards in total offense while the Bulldogs racked up15 first downs and 358 yards in total offense.
“I thought our defense played well,” Glencoe head coach Rusty Davis said. “We created some turnovers early; we just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We shot ourselves in the foot.”
The game began as a defensive struggle with both teams exchanging fumbles in the early going. Piedmont’s first score came after Glencoe lost a fumble on its own 39-yard line. The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0) took advantage and quarterback Taylor Hayes scored on a 31-yard run with 5:38 left in the first quarter, picking the ball up after fumbling on fourth and two.
Glencoe had three turnovers in the first half, all of which led to touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
Carl Myers intercepted a pass by Glencoe quarterback Cole Holbrooks with 2:38 left in the first quarter to help set up the next Piedmont score. Lee Stanley Jr. scored from five yards out with 11:51 left in the first half. The extra-point attempt was wide right but Piedmont led 13-0.
Glencoe fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give Piedmont great field position from the Yellow Jacket 30. The visitors scored four plays later on a 17-yard run by Hayes. Hayes then found Tadrian Fairs to convert a two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 advantage with 11:19 left in the second quarter.
Piedmont added a 39-yard, two-play drive to increase their lead to 27-0 at the half. Darien Bossie caught a 35-yard touchdown pass for the score. Bossie finished the game with six catches for 110 yards.
The Bulldogs’ final score came on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hayes to Bossie with 1:24 left in the third quarter. The PAT failed.
Hayes finished 13 of 21 in passing for 156 yards and led the team in rushing with 79 yards on eight carries. Stanley added 60 yards on 15 carries. Kaedon Jenkins had 30 yards on five carries.
For Glencoe, Holbrooks completed 9 of 18 passes for 55 yards. Bradley Scott had three receptions for 24 yards.
Noah Huff led the Yellow Jackets in tackles with 12, followed by Paul Hicks with 10, Aaron Bush with nine and Austin Bush and Tyler Palmares with six each.
“Piedmont’s a good football team,” said Davis. “We didn’t execute and gave up too many big plays.”
Glencoe has an open date this week before traveling to Randolph County on Sept. 16.