By Heath Walley
Enterprise countered a Bay Springs Bulldog opening drive touchdown and took an 8-7 lead early in the first quarter on the road, but that was all she wrote for the visiting Bulldogs as Bay Springs went on to demolish its homecoming and Region 5-2A foe, 57-14.
The tight Wing-T look that Enterprise ran against Bay Springs gave the homestanding Bulldogs fits on Enterprise’s first scoring drive. But, Bay Springs head coach Dan Brady’s team adjusted to the opposing offense quickly and shut it down the rest of the night.
“We started off really, really fast on offense, but defensively against Enterprise, it’s hard to duplicate what they do with the two tight. We started off slow, and I think it kind of caught us off guard. But, when we got going, I felt really good about what our kids were doing,” Brady said. “We were able to capitalize off some turnovers, and the effort was always there.”
On Bay Springs’ opening drive, running back Jamarius Hosey capped a 55-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run to give his team a 7-0 lead after a Jacorrio Ducksworth extra point.
Enterprise punched back when Zack Kyle polished off a lengthy drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to give Enterprise an 8-7 lead following a converted two-point play with 8:52 left in the first quarter.
Bay Springs then took control of the game and never looked back.
On the ensuing drive, Bay Springs’ Anson Windham ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run. Following an Enterprise fumble on its next possession that was recovered by Bay Springs, Hosey rambled 40 yards to set up a 25-yard Adrian Cole touchdown pass to Derrien Lee that gave Bay Springs a 23-8 cushion with 5:25 left in the first.
Brady’s Bulldogs kept churning early in the second quarter. Windham and Ducksworth produced good runs to put Bay Springs inside the Enterprise 10-yard line. Hosey then grabbed his second touchdown of the night on a 7-yard run to extend Bay Springs’ lead to 31-8 with only a few seconds expired from the second quarter clock.
Later in the quarter, Ducksworth picked off an Enterprise pass and returned it 65 yards for another Bay Springs touchdown, and Dallen Jones added a 2-point conversion to give Bay Springs a 39-8 lead. Only three minutes later, Anthony Wheaton got into the endzone on a 5-yard run that gave the Bulldogs a 45-8 lead, and before the half ended, Jones razored through the Enterprise defense on an 18-yard run to give Bay Springs a 51-8 advantage.
Bay Springs put up its final points late in the third quarter when Dominick Myers reeled off a 45-yard run that set up a Chase Wilson 25-yard touchdown run.
Now, Bay Springs (7-3, 2-1) turns its eyes to cross-county rival Heidelberg (4-6, 2-1) for a Region 5-2A road game that will determine second place in the region. The Oilers lost to region frontrunner Taylorsville Friday night in a 34-0 outcome.
The Oilers got past the Bulldogs last season in a physical game on the Bulldogs’ home turf, and Brady expects the heated rivalry that is 25-25-1 in record to be another physical contest. It’s also a game he and his team have had on their minds since the loss last season.
“It’s a great rivalry between two good teams, and it means a lot to both communities. Last year, Heidelberg did a great job and had a great game plan. They beat us, and you know our kids are hungry right now. They want that chance to play Heidelberg again, and we know Heidelberg and coach (Marchello) Evans will be hungry for it too,” he explained. “Basically, next week we will be playing for second place in the division. There will be a lot up for grabs. I’m excited about it and so are our kids.”
