Published: August 29, 2008 01:29 am            

Blue Devils open with win

FALKVILLE — From the opening kickoff until the end of the game, the Falkville Blue Devils had the visiting Priceville Bulldogs where they wanted them — on their own side of mid-field.

Falkville controlled the line of scrimmage and held a huge advantage over the Bulldogs in field position and total yards, cruising to a 28-0 win Thursday night.

The Blue Devils average starting position was at their own 40-yard line and the defense held Priceville to a total of 49 yards on offense.

Dustin Jump got the Blue Devils rolling to begin the game with a 62-yard kick return down to the Priceville 33-yard line on the opening kickoff, after a five-yard penalty was marked off on Priceville for being offside.

Five plays later, Falkville senior quarterback Jonathan McNatt hit a wide-open Shane Ellis for a 20-yard score with only 1:56 gone in the opening quarter.

Aaron Lee got the extra point over and Falkville led 7-0. Lee was perfect on the night on extra points, as he connected on all four he attempted.

It took less than three minutes for the Blue Devils to add their next score on a two-yard plunge by Jump. With Lee’s PAT, Falkville held a surprising 14-0 lead over their rival from Morgan County.

All week long, the Blue Devil had been thinking about the 52-26 loss they suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs one year ago. The Falkville defense had it in mind that Priceville would not score a single point.

“The coaches were concerned with our front three, so we rotated them in and out a good bit throughout the game,” head coach Neal Estes said. “Our guys did what they needed to for the win.”

That became evident throughout the game, as the Blue Devils sacked the opposing quarterback eight times on the night and had four tackles for a loss.

McNatt gave the Blue Devils a needed spark on defense to push Falkville up by three touchdowns. McNatt busted through the line and blocked a Justin Anderson punt, and Trevor Mayer snatched the ball out of the air and ran it in for a 20-yard touchdown.

The final score of the game came early in the second quarter on another 2-yard run by Jump. Allen’s kick was true and the Blue Devils held a sizable lead with three quarters left to play.

Falkville will play host in its Class 2A, Region 7 opener next Friday against the Addison Bulldogs.

‰ Susan Moore 35, J.B. Penninton 32: It wasn’t the start head coach Wayne Murphy was looking for.

Susan Moore’s John Everett scored midway through the fourth quarter, securing the win for the Bulldogs.

Devyn Murphree ran for two touchdowns for Pennington, both coming in the second half. Brandon Cole also had two touchdown catches.

“We knew it was going to be a hard fought game,”Murphy said. “We knew that going into this.”

Pennington hosts Carbon Hill in a region game next week.

        

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