From The Tifton Gazette Indians get revenge, defeat Bulldogs 49-26 Becky Taylor 11/22/2013 11:48 PM If at first you dont succeed, Trion again. That was the motto for the Irwin County Indians (9-1-1) Friday night. A year after falling to the Trion Bulldogs (5-5) in the first round of the Class A public school state tournament, they rebounded for a 49-26 win over the same opponent to advance to the elite eight. Irwin will host the Johnson County Trojans next Friday. Johnson was a 29-20 winner over Emanuel County Institute in their first round game. While the Indians were never behind in the contest, Trion did cut the lead to 28-26 in the 3rd quarter. It had been a 9-point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs roared down the field to start the second half, biting off small chunks rushing, but the big damage came through the air. Quarterback Cory Bethune hit all three of his passes during the drive, including a 23-yarder to Isaac Thomas at 7:35 that was good for the touchdown. Needing some breathing room, Irwin responded in a big way. Starting at their own 43 and with Jakyron Young and Antuane Merritt leading the way, they picked up three 1st downs on consecutive snaps and worked down to the 17. From there, Young picked his way through the defense for a score and in two minutes, Irwins lead was back to nine, 35-26. The Indians would be halted on their next possession, fumbling on a 4th down, play, but that was the last time. After Trion turned it over on downs, Irwin was nearly stopped, but Lady Luck smiled upon them. T.J. Wynn was trapped behind the line on 4th-and-short and lost control of the football. It was scooped up by Young and with most of the defense occupied, he raced around left end until he was stopped at the 5. One play later, Merritt ran it in for a touchdown. The Indians tacked on one more with 39 seconds left in the 4th quarter on Ty Hogans 11-yard rush. In the meantime, Irwin made the Trion offense completely disappear. They only gained 18 more yards and one 1st down over the remaining 1.5 quarters after they had pulled it to 2 points. Lady Luck had her moments with both schools. Trion twice had batted passes go their way. Irwin tipped one in the 1st quarter that landed in the receivers hands. Malik Martin finished the drive in the 2nd with a short rush for a touchdown, a play after a halfback option pass from Gabe Howell to Jared Wigley got them down to the 1. Irwin would block the extra point try. The other batted pass was for a touchdown at the end of the 1st half. Getting the snap at the 4, Bethune avoided defenders behind the line and lofted a pass in the air. It was intended for Wigley in the back of the endzone, but Thomas was the one who leaped and tipped it to himself. Irwin nearly ran away with the game in the opening quarter. Ryan Peterson ran for a 15-yard touchdown a minute into the game, then Merritt made it 14-0 at 5:18 in the 1st on a 60-yard rush. Trion got on the board on a 35-yard run by Martin, but Irwin responded with a 1-yard run by quarterback Kyle Posey. The Indians scored once in the 2nd quarter, a 23-yard run by Young. Five Irwin players would have at least 40 yards. Young was the leading rusher with 161 yards. Merritt added 108 on 11 attempts. Wynn had 61, Peterson, 55 and James Curtis, 44. They had 447 total yards.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 07:55:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015