Photos| Bennie Miles — The Link
BENNETTSVILLE—The Marlboro County Bulldogs have started the season strong, scoring 103 points in their first two games. Friday night in McAlpine Stadium, the only things that stopped the Bulldogs was Mother Nature and some penalty flags.
An approaching storm postponed the contest between the Cheraw Braves and the Bulldogs in the first quarter. The score was already 27-7.
The Bulldogs had attacked the field scoring on offense and defense. In the first quarter alone, the Bulldogs forced three turnovers and scored on two of them.
Saturday morning, the onslot continued.
Cheraw started the second half of the first quarter with an interception that the Bulldogs returned for a 65-yard touchdown, upping the score to 33-7.
The Bulldogs punted for the first time in the second quarter with 8:21 left before halftime. The Braves went three and out on offense and the Bulldogs took over on offense scoring again with a touchdown from Josiah Robinson.
With a little less than seven minutes in the second, the Bulldogs go up 40 to 7 over the Braves.
The Bulldog defense shut down the run and pass option for Cheraw, something Marlboro head coach Cory Johnson said the team was going to prepare for.
“The most important thing is making sure the kids have the right attitude when it comes to coming to work and playing a sport and everything that they do, giving full effort,” Johnson said.
That effort was on display Friday and Saturday as the Bulldogs were prepared for what Cheraw did well, intentionally kicking off short to keep the ball out of the hands of the Braves punt returner, stopping the run, and scoring on every series.
Then there was the effort of the defense. It may be early in the season, but the Bulldogs have only given up 13 points in two games. Senior Curtis Jackson leads the stout defense with three interceptions. Junior Zamarion Lester has seven solo tackles on the season.
Defensive coordinator and DB coach Dennis McFatten said the defense has been successful because they practice it over and over. “It’s repetition. We’re creatures of habit and we’re repping those things over and over in practice. When the players actually see it in the game, it’s instinct for them.”
This week, the Bulldogs face a different type of team as they head to Laurinburg, N.C. to take on Scotland High.
The Fighting Scots also had a paused game last Friday and won in a nail-biter against Terry Sanford. The final score was 42-41.
While this is another non-region game, it will be an early test for the Bulldogs. However, Scotland’s defense will need to watch out for offensive weapons like senior wide receiver Justin Purvis, who had 136 receiving yards and two TDs against the Braves. And then there’s senior running back Josiah Robinson who leads the squad with four TDs this season. Senior quarterback Nydarion Blackwell has thrown for 322 yards on the season and no INTs.
Johnson said he’s expecting maximum team effort from the Bulldogs against Scotland. “I want us to play as hard as we can and as clean as we can, then we can live with the result.”
He said the Fighting Scots are really big, really fast and they’re coached really well. “Their head football is going to be in North Carolina high school hall of fame. He’s been to six state championships,” Johnson said about the Fighting Scots head coach Richard Bailey.
The Scots operate a run-pass offense, Johnson said. “They have two really good receivers and a really good running game and a humongous offensive line. We got our hands full.”
Friday’s game at Scotland’s Pate Stadium kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
Please note that Scotland High School’s game policy is as follows:
Elementary and middle school students MUST be accompanied by an adult (21 years or older)
That adult will be required to sign in as they come into the stadium and will be responsible for the elementary/middle school child/children that they bring to the game.
Elementary/middle school students cannot be dropped off at the gate and must remain with the adult that signs them in at the gate.
ALL high school students (regardless of what school they attend – visitors included) MUST have a school-issued i.d. to attend the game without an adult.
If a student has a Community College i.d. card, that is acceptable and can be used as well.
If a high school student does not have a school-issued i.d. card, they must be accompanied by an adult (21 years or older) to be admitted to the game.
Students must be in good standing to attend the game and will not be admitted if they are currently suspended from school.