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| Dawgs keep playoff hopes alive via Ezell touchdowns |
By: Sara Reid — Special to the Weakley County Press
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Posted: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:36 pm
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Paydirt — Gleason's Cody Ezell scores one of his two touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 21-0 win over visiting Scotts Hill Friday night. Ezell rushed for 129 yards in the win. Photo by Sara Reid
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GLEASON, Tenn. –Accomplishing exactly what it needed to accomplish, Gleason now stands poised for a showdown with District 13-A opponent Dresden to fight for a playoff position.
This past Friday night, the Bulldogs shut down the Scotts Hill passing attack and shut out the visiting Lions, 21-0, for their sixth win of the season.
Both Dresden and Gleason will be in must-win situations when they square off in the regular-season finale for both teams at the Lions’ Rotary Field on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 that evening.
The victory over Scotts Hill kept alive the Dawgs’ hopes to earn a playoff wildcard berth.
Gleason put the first score on the board in the first quarter on a Cody Ezell four-yard run. The Dawgs struck again in the third on a 19-yard run by Dalton Teeter and finally in the fourth on another four-yarder by Ezell.
Scotts Hill opened with possession on its own 35. Richard Hensley picked up a yard on first down and Rocky Scott found Brad Jones on an 11-yard pass play. Scott gained six on a keeper and 15 on a pass to Michael Walters. Hensley gained 15 more yards up the middle, but was then pulled down behind the line for a two-yard loss on first down. Scott picked up four on a keeper, but threw his next two passes incomplete to turn the ball over on downs.
Gleason took over on its own 17 and went to a pack of runners. Nicky Spain gained nothing on first down, but Teeter gained a yard on second down and Ezell swept to the right for a nine-yard gain and a first down. Sam Cosby picked up 11 up the middle and Teeter and Ezell followed with large pickups of 26 and 23 yards, respectively. Down to the Scotts Hill 13, Cosby was held to a yard, Ezell gained three and Cosby picked up five. On fourth-and-one from the 4, however, Ezell pounded in the touchdown at the right corner. Matt Mayo kicked the extra point and Gleason surged ahead, 7-0.
Scotts Hill fumbled it right back to the Bulldogs to end the first quarter.
The Bulldogs were pushed back on a block in the back penalty to start the second, but Ezell made up for it with a 14-yard gain. Teeter followed with a 14-yard pick-up and Ezell carried for six yards down to the Lion 4-yard line. The Bulldogs were flagged for another block in the back and Ezell gained just a yard on third-and-goal. Conner Verdell's pass fell short on fourth down and Gleason turned the ball over to the visitors.
The Lions were forced to punt on their next possession and GHS did the same before forcing another punt to end the half.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs to end their first drive of the third quarter. Scotts Hill was limited to a quick three-and-out and Gleason got the ball back on the Scotts Hill 46.
Ezell took a handoff four yards up the middle, but Teeter was pushed back two yards. Verdell completed a pass to Ezell for 23 yards and Cosby gained two yards up the middle before Teeter broke loose for a 19-yard gain and a touchdown. Mayo missed the kick, but the home team took a 13-0 lead with 3:28 left in the third.
Scotts Hill was forced to punt and Gleason held onto possession to run out the third frame.
The Dawgs made steady progress to start the fourth, but were hampered with penalties and gave the ball up on downs. Scotts Hill picked up nothing on its next attempt on offense, but on the punt, Myles Sifford blind-sided Gleason’s Austin Perry with a hit and play ceased for the freshmen tight end to receive medical assistance off the field.
When play resumed, Ezell did all the work himself taking the ball 47 yards on six plays and capping the drive with a four-yard score. Running in the conversion, Ezell added the insurance score for the home team, 21-0, and moved it one step closer to a playoff spot. A postseason berth in 2009 would be the third consecutive trip to the football playoffs for the Dawgs.
Ezell and Teeter each eclipsed the century-mark in rushing — Ezell with 129 yards and two touchdowns and Teeter with 123 yards and a touchdown.
Scotts Hill-Gleason, Stats
Scotts Hill 0 0 0 0—0
Gleason 7 0 6 8—21
First Quarter
GHS — Cody Ezell 4 run, (Matt Mayo kick), 2:52.
Third Quarter
GHS — Dalton Teeter 19 run, (kick failed), 3:28.
Fourth Quarter
GHS — Ezell 4 run, (Ezell run), 3:18.
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SHHS GHS
First Downs 8 17
Rushes-yards 16-44 53-331
Passing yards 59 31
Comp-Att-Int 8-20-1 2-6-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-10 8-87
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Individual Statistics
Rushing — Scotts Hill Richard Hensley 7-29, Rocky Scott 8-20, Michael Walters 1-(-5); Gleason, Cody Ezell 26-129, Dalton Teeter 14-123, Sam Cosby 10-64, Conner Verdell 2-15, Nicky Spain 1-0.
Passing — Scotts Hill, Scott 8-20-1 59; Gleason, Verdell 2-6-0 31.
Receiving — Scotts Hill, Walters 2-16, Craig Belanger 3-15, Brad Jones 1-11, Richard Hensley 2-7; Gleason, Ezell 1-23, Teeter 1-8.
Records — Scotts Hill 2-7 (1-2 District 15-A), Gleason 6-3 (1-3 District 13-A).
Next Game — Scotts Hill will host Trinity Christian on Thursday night, while Gleason will visit county rival Dresden with kickoff at 7 on Friday night.
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