’Jackets rebound, sting Bulldogs

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September 1, 2012

’Jackets rebound, sting Bulldogs

By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Sat Sep 01, 2012, 06:30 AM CDT

MERIDIAN —     As the Clarkdale Bulldogs loaded onto the bus Friday afternoon to head to Union, coach Chris Richmond had a bad feeling.

   That premonition came true as Jesse Gill ran wild and the Yellowjackets routed the visiting Bulldogs 36-12.

   "When we got on the bus and I saw our kids, I just had a bad feeling about this one," Richmond said. "We just came out flat and weren't ready to play.

   "Yesterday we missed a day of school and a day of preparation and I had a bad feeling when I came to school today and watched how our kids acted. We were out of kilt and came out flat, and you can't come out flat against a team like Union."

   And if the Bulldogs weren't flat already, Gill did his best to deflate them. After the Bulldogs were forced to punt on the first possession, Union's senior quarterback started his highlight show. The 'Jackets took over on the Clarkdale 46 following a 5-yard punt and following an 11-yard run from Adrian Campbell, Gill darted 35 yards and put Union up 6-0.

   It was just the beginning.

   "He's a pretty good player," Richmond said understatedly.

   After Clarkdale tied it, Gill answered right back to put Union ahead for good. Capping an 11-play drive, Gill sneaked in from the 1 with 10:19 remaining in the first half. But the Bulldogs weren't done.

   Clarkdale utilized two Union penalties on its previous drives for first downs and then scored when Blake Mauldin hit Spencer Dickerson on a 17-yard touchdown on fourth-and-16. The Bulldogs went right back to work after Union went up 12-6.

   The Bulldogs started with a 36-yard pass on the drive's first play and after churning out another first down, Clarkdale again stalled in the red zone. This time Mauldin's fourth-down pass sailed over his receiver and Union held.

   "The second time, we ended up holding them and that was big for our defense and gave them some momentum and some believing in themselves," Union coach Brad Breland said. "I thought the rest of the night we played pretty good on defense."

   And then Gill ended it. On the ensuing play, he raced 88 yards untouched and the 'Jackets pulled ahead 20-6.

   "We've been preaching and preaching and preaching that when we get in the red zone, we have to get points," Richmond added. "Here again tonight, just like Southeast (Lauderdale) and just like Sebastopol two times last week, we get in the red zone twice and no points.

   "And then they turned around and scored again. We can't play with people when we can't score and then let them go right back down and score."

   Gill added a 70-yard touchdown run on Union's next drive, ending the first half with 234 yards and four scores on just nine carries. Playing only one drive after the break, he finished with 236 yards on 11 carries and completed all three of his passes for 43 yards and Union's final touchdown, which came with 9:20 left in the third quarter when he hit Jake Rawson from 19 yards out.

   "Jesse did good and we blocked a lot better," Breland said. "Jesse is a good athlete but we blocked a lot better, our receivers did a good job blocking. It wasn't just Jesse. There was a lot of people had their hands in it.

   "He's got some things he needs to keep working on, but he's a pretty good talent."

   Clarkdale, which had 202 yards of total offense, tacked on a touchdown early in the fourth when Mauldin found Tanner McQueen on a 18-yard touchdown pass. Mauldin completed 4 of 8 passes for 86 yards with the two scores and one interception, while David Alsup led the Bulldogs with 52 yards rushing.

   The lone downside for the Yellowjackets, who had 324 yards of offense, was penalties. Union was flagged 12 times for 104 yards.

   "We look like we're not even coached at all," Breland said. "I hate to say that but we do just stupid stuff, hitting people in the back when it doesn't even matter.

   "We're fixing to start running or something. We're going to fix it, I guarantee you that."

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