By Heath Walley
Bay Springs got it done quick Friday night in Clarkdale.
In fact, it only took the Bulldogs about 25 offensive snaps in the first half to completely nail down the coffin on Region 5/2A foe Clarkdale in a 34-14 victory.
Leading by five touchdowns and a shutout after halftime, Bay Springs head coach Dan Brady called of the ‘Dawgs’ when the third quarter began, and the junior varsity squad got all the playing experience they needed in the second.
The first half blowout and second half hiatus for the Bay Springs starting groups was probably something Brady’s bunch needed, both physically and mentally, following a tough 42-40 region loss to Taylorsville last Friday night and the schedule the Bulldogs faced in the weeks before that.
“It means a lot,” Brady said of the somewhat lax night in Clarkdale. “The first several weeks of the season was a murderers row. We knew it was going to be hard, but it was a little harder than even I could even imagine. Losing three games by a combined 9 points was hard, and it wears on kids. It was great for them to be able to watch some of the young kids get in the game and make some plays tonight. It was a good night all around, and I am proud of my kids.”
Anson Windham got things going for Bay Springs in the first quarter when he burst through for a 28-yard touchdown run. A series later and early into the second quarter, Windham stoked the fire again with a 5-yard touchdown run following a drive that began at midfield. Quarterback Adrian Cole soon after found some holes in the Clarkdale defense and hooked up with Lejavieon Gammage on a 15-yard TD strike, and later in the quarter hit Derrien Lee on a 14-yard connection to give the Bulldogs a 27-0 cushion. Windham polished off the Bay Springs scoring on his third trip to the endzone with 10-yard scamper.
Cole was efficient through the air in the first half, connecting for 120 yards on 19 attempts, and the entire Bay Springs first group offense was upbeat. Gammage ran with force after multiple receptions, and Windham eased through the Clarkdale defense, oftentimes running over two or three defenders during carries, while on the field.
The Bulldogs defensive unit was a beast, to say the least, in the first half, and only allowed Clarkdale twice to even sniff Bay Springs territory.
“We had a pretty decent week of practice this week. Some teams may have been down after a loss like last week (Taylorsville), but our kids weren’t,” Brady explained. “They were ready to go and know how close we are to being really good. I told them we were probably the best 3-4 team in the state coming in to tonight. We’ve just got to continue to get better. It’s about to be game nine, and I think a lot of the youthful problems we’ve been having are working themselves out. We are starting to grow up, and we are starting to find our identity.”
Bay Springs (4-4, 1-1) will host Newton (5-2, 0-2) from Region 4/2A Friday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
