Hunter Uland evades an Ezell-Harding defender and breaks loose for a 9-yard pickup on the game’s first drive. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
Brandon Hargrave streaks down the home sideline on a 49-yard run to paydirt to score the ‘Dawgs’ second touchdown. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
CORNERSVILLE — A pair of key fourth-down stops in their own territory and a stellar night out of the backfield by senior Hunter Uland carried the Cornersville Bulldogs past Ezell-Harding, 40-26, on a freaky Friday the 13th.
“The one down inside the 10, they’re one-score down and they had all the momentum. That was a huge momentum swing. It felt like they had everything going on their way. But we got that stop and it really got us back rolling again,” Cornersville coach Elliot Cook said.
One of the biggest stops of the game came early in the fourth quarter after Ezell-Harding had pulled within one score of the ‘Dawgs’ lead and marched to the Cornersville 7-yard line at one point.
However a false start and two incomplete passes later forced a turnover on downs with 11:09 left in the game.
Hunter Uland then dug the ‘Dawgs out of a deep hope with four-straight runs and aided by an Eagle personal foul, Cornersville (2-2) was well on the march to icing the game with an insurance score.
But with rain pouring, a fumble with 9:33 left in the game gave the ball back to the Eagles with prime field position.
On the drive following the turnover, a third-down pass completion to Ezell-Harding’s Markus Gibbs that went for 38 yards once again put the Eagles (1-3) in Bulldog territory.
Following the thi
Cornersville big man Landon Mitchell celebrates after shooting the gap and sacking Ezell-Harding quarterback Willis Frasier. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
rd-down conversion, the Cornersville defense once again rose to the occasion and forced four-straight incompletions, once again turning the Eagles over on downs, this time on the 25-yard line with 6:58 left.
Four plays later, Uland put the game on ice with his third rushing touchdown of the night, breaking a 46-yard run for the final score of the night.
“He (Uland) has been really waiting on the big-time, bust-out game and he finally got it tonight. Just trusting the process, trusting the system and trusting his guys. Great job by him,” Cook said.
Uland established himself early on as a key cog in the ‘Dawgs’ offensive ground game and scored touchdown runs of three, 15, two and 46 yards.
While Uland was the bell cow for the Bulldogs, the entire stable of backs, including sophomore quarterback Jackson Smith contributed at key points.
“It’ wasn’t only him, but Brandon (Hargrave), had several big runs, Coop (Austin Cooper) had several big runs and Jackson (Smith) had several big runs.” Cook said.
Smith capped the game’s opening drive with a 3-yard score, only for Ezell-Harding to storm back and tie the game at six on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Willis Frasier to Gibbs.
Hargrave struck back for the second Bulldog score of the first quarter when he broke loose on a 49-yard touchdown run with 3:38 left in the first frame, but again, Ezell-Harding went to the air and answered when Frasier hit Gibbs on a 13-yard strike for the second Eagle passing touchdown of the quarter.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was deadlocked at 12 apiece.
Senior Austin Cooper put the ‘Dawgs on top on the first play of the second quarter, scoring from eight yards out and after Joseth Palma’s successful kick, Cornersville led 19-12.
Frasier later tossed his third touchdown of the first half, this time connecting with Phillip Snow on a 7-yard score with 3:48 to go in the half, pulling the visitors within one.
But Uland simply wouldn’t be denied.
He added two more touchdowns, scoring from 15 yards out and two yards out to put the ‘Dawgs up 33-18 at the half.
After Cornersville took a two-score lead in the second quarter, Ezell-Harding responded with a 13-play drive that milked 6:14 off the clock in the third, before Frasier ran in a 5-yard score for his fourth touchdown of the night to pull within one score of the ‘Dawgs’ lead.
But that one score was all the Cornersville defense allowed in the second half.
“Defensively, we pretty much took away their threat of a running game. They were getting after the quarterback with sacks, and even when we weren’t getting sacks, just pressuring him where he couldn’t make a comfortable throw,” Cook said.
Having made the Eagles a one-dimensional threat, Friday night was a battle won in the trenches and without the Cornersville offensive line paving the way, the Bulldog ground game wouldn’t have been able to thrive.
“I can’t say enough about our o-line and d-line. They just really took the game over. All those guys we named that are getting their names called for big runs and scores—it wouldn’t happen with those hog mollies up front paving the way,” Cook said.
Friday night also marked the fourth start for sophomore Jackson Smith, who continues to grow as the Bulldog leader.
“The maturation he’s showed—he’s getting better every week,” Cook said.
Friday night’s win marks the second-straight by Cornersville and after a gritty effort in the trenches and the ground game, Cook hopes his team will springboard the momentum into next week’s rivalry region matchup against Richland in the Battle of Buford Station.
“Not only is it a region game, but it’s a rivalry game. For a few years, Richland wasn’t in our region but it didn’t matter to our guys. We just have to keep getting better. Even as well as we played at times and the resiliency we showed when they had all the momentum, if we just keep fixing our mistakes and the fewer mistakes we make, the better we’re going to be,” Cook said.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Frog Bottom on Friday night.
Ezell-Harding 12 6 8 0 — 26
Cornersville 12 21 0 7 — 40
First Quarter
C — Jackson Smith 3 run, (2pt. run failed), 7:30.
EH — Markus Gibbs 80 pass from Willis Frasier, (kick failed), 5:39.
C — Brandon Hargrave 49 run, (2pt. pass failed), 3:38.
EH — Gibbs 13 pass from Frasier, (2pt. run failed), 1:15.
Second Quarter
C — Austin Cooper 8 run, (Joseth Palma kick), 11:55.
EZ — Phillip Snow 7 pass from Frasier, (kick failed), 3:48.
C — Uland 15 run, (Palma kick), 2:52.
C — Uland 2 run, (Palma kick), 0:21.
Third Quarter
EH — Frasier 5 run, (Gibbs 2pt. pass from Frasier), 5:46.
Fourth Quarter
C — Uland 46 run, (Palma kick), 4:22.
