Sara Reid — Special to the Weakley County Pres
Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2009 6:19 pm

GLEASON, Tenn. — Behind three touchdowns from Ian Legens and a characteristic second-half surge, the Gleason Junior High Bulldogs remain undefeated on the season at 5-0.
Their latest win came this past Thursday night against the McKenzie Middle School Rebels as the Dawgs scored 22 unanswered points after trailing 8-0 to win 22-8.
After taking first possession, McKenzie was quickly forced to punt. Gleason took over on its own 18 and picked up a first down on carries from Chris Copeland and Will Clark. Chase Ezell gained five on a handoff and Legens ran for six and a first down. Clark netted six yards on two carries, but Legens was limited to two yards on his next two carries and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs.
McKenzie held possession into the second quarter, but on second and long, Tanner Trevathan picked off a pass. After a quick three-and-out, however, the visitors took over.
From the Dawg 40, Eric Chavez ran into the end zone. With the conversion, the Rebels took an 8-0 lead with 3:55 left before the half.
At their own 33, the Bulldogs gained 16 yards on a Clark carry and entered enemy territory on a five-yard gain from Clark. Continuing his hot streak, Clark picked up 21 and put Gleason at the McKenzie 23. Runs from Copeland and Ezell moved the Dawgs down to the 12 and though two passes from Trevathan fell incomplete, Legens took a handoff 12 yards around the left side for the touchdown. Clark ran in the conversion and the host tied the score 8-8 at the half.
The Dawgs opened with possession in the third quarter and gained steady yardage while managing the clock. Down at the McKenzie 14, Legens ran in his second touchdown and, though the conversion failed, the Dawgs took a 14-8 lead with 2:33 left in the third.
The momentum continued when McKenzie coughed up the ball on the kickoff and Ezell recovered.
Already deep in Rebel territory, the Dawgs ran out the clock in the third and punched in a five-yard touchdown from Legens to start the fourth quarter. Copeland ran in the conversion and the Bulldogs increased the lead and held on to make it a final, 22-8.
The Dawgs will put their win streak on the line next against visiting Huntingdon tonight (Thursday) with kickoff at 6:30.