The Geraldine Bulldogs football team saw their season come to a close on Friday night as they fell to the defending champion Mars Hill Bible School in the quarterfinal round of the 3A state playoffs 42-0.
“They have a really good football team, I think everyone in the state knows that.” Bulldogs head coach Michael Davis said. “They played a really, really good game of football and we didn’t and that made all the difference.”
Mars Hill was putting pressure on the Bulldogs right out of the gate, rushing in a fifty-eight yard touchdown on their first possession to go up 7-0 with 11:26 still left in the first quarter. Bulldogs quarterback Jon Beck Wade was able to secure a first down on their opening drive but after being forced to punt watched Mars Hill return the ball for an eighty-five yard touchdown.
Down 14-0 with more than half of the first quarter remaining the Bulldogs would go three and out and punt the ball away again, with Mars Hill needing only two plays to grab another touchdown with a seventy-eight yard run. The Bulldogs would be forced to punt again without reaching a first down, leaving Mars Hill open to take another touchdown and make it a 28-0 game with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs would run out the first quarter on offense, getting a first down early in the second on a run by senior Eli Schlageter. The would ultimately punt the ball, with junior Tyler Eakins stopping a big Mars Hill return. Starting from the inside forty-four Mars Hill would get put into a third and long, but a deep pass would set them up on the three yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would back them up to the eighteen, but they were able to drive the ball back down for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs would grab two first downs on their next drive, first with a run by Wade and then on a pass interference penalty on Mars Hill. They managed to cross midfield down to the inside forty-four, but two incomplete passes led them to punt the ball away with three minutes left in the half. With seconds left on the clock Mars Hill would try for a field goal from the twelve yard line but missed the shot and the half ended with the Bulldogs down 35-0.
The Bulldogs would burn away most of the third quarter on offense. Starting from the outside thirty-one they got their first first down with a short run by Wade, followed by another on a false start penalty against Mars Hill. Crossing midfield they would save themselves on fourth down with a pass from Wade to senior Cooper Johnson, with a follow up run by Schlageter landing them on the inside twenty-seven. It would be as close as the Bulldogs would get though as they lost yardage on their next play, with their drive ending on a fourth down interception with just over three minutes remaining. Mars Hill would go three and out on their only third quarter drive, punting the ball and leaving the Bulldogs on offense as the game entered its final quarter.
The Bulldogs would try for a fourth down save on their opening fourth quarter drive, but Schlageter wasn’t able to break through Mars Hill and they turned the ball over. Starting from the outside twenty-eight Mars Hill would work their way close to midfield, breaking off one more big run as they carried the ball sixty-one yards for the final touchdown of the game. The Bulldogs would run out the rest of the game on offense, even saving themselves on fourth down twice with a pass from Wade to Kade Justice and another Mars Hill penalty, but time finally ran out and Mars Hill walked away with the 42-0 win.
The loss wraps up the Bulldogs season with an impressive 11-2 record, their only other loss coming during the regular season against the Boaz Pirates. The Bulldogs were undefeated in region play, finishing first for 3A Region 8.
“We have such good kids on this team,” Davis said. “They do anything and everything we ask of them and I’m super proud of the effort they put into this season. They’ve faced adversity, been able to overcome it and still find ways to win. I’m sad for our six seniors, we wanted to keep going for them and it’s always hard to let go when the season is over but this has been a great group and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”