MOUNTAIN PINE -- Despite Mountain Pine controlling the scoreboard for the majority of the game, the Earle Bulldogs inched past the Red Devils, 16-14, in the final moments of the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs, ending Mountain Pine's season Friday night at Stanley May Field.
With a 14-8 lead at the half, Mountain Pine (6-5) held the Bulldogs scoreless while failing to find the end zone themselves going into the final frame.
With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Earle sophomore Jayden Matthews stripped the ball, returning a Mountain Pine fumble for 35 yards to the Red Devils' 20 with 1:38 left in the game to put the Bulldogs (6-4) within striking distance.
The defensive charge set the stage for an aerial attack carried out by backup QB Alex Coleman as the playmaker connected with senior LeAndrew Milow at the 1. Senior quarterback Jaylon Coopwood cut his way down the middle for a touchdown, drawing a 14-14 tie.
Coopwood found Milow again on the conversion play, giving the Bulldogs their first and only lead of the night, setting the final with 47 seconds left on the clock.
"We had the lead," Mountain Pine head coach Sam Counce said. "I guess we got the ball back with 47.7 seconds left to score. We had some opportunities to score there late. ... Our offense got limited because Hayden Barnes got ejected out of the game -- one of our guards and starting linebackers.
"And that always hurts whenever you lose a starter, especially a senior, but in that last drive whenever we got the first down with Collin on about the 30, I thought we had a chance. We still had 25 seconds left [and] two timeouts. ... It just wasn't meant to be after that. We dropped a couple and threw the interception."
With 2:27 off the clock in the first, the Red Devils pushed out to an early 8-0 lead on a five-play, 28-yard drive that was capped by senior quarterback Collin Smith on a go-ahead 7-yard rushing score. The Red Devils then converted the 2-point play.
"I was proud of our defense," noted Counce. "I thought we did a good job, but our pass-defense wasn't that good. They were successful at throwing the ball. On offense, I think we did some good things. We dropped a few balls and things like that; we just didn't get the timely catches we needed. It just wasn't meant-to-be type of a night."
Minutes later, Earle's Carim Washington responded as the senior back ran 25 yards down the field, zipping past Red Devil defenders and into the end zone to give the Bulldogs a touchdown of their own with 6:36 left in the period, knotting the score after their own successful conversion.
Earle's defense failed to contain Mountain Pine's offensive gains in the waning moments of the first half as Smith went on to seal a 16-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left on the clock. The conversion was denied, leaving the Red Devils' with a 6-point lead at the break.
The Bulldogs will travel to Hazen next Friday after the Hornets cruised to a 42-6 win over Hampton.
"It ended a long run with those guys -- those seniors," Counce added of his players. "I wasn't ready for those guys to put their stuff up, but Earle competed, they played hard throughout the game and stayed in it."
Smith logged 23 carries for 148 yards, senior Jeremiah Walker ran 13 times for 47 yards and junior Josiah Walpole had five attempts for 23. Senior Jace Chacon brought down Earle's quarterback four times while junior Jordan Pruitt had one stop.
Sports on 11/17/2019