Bulldog ball: South Harrison’s Grant Taylor jumps on a ball after King City attempted an onside kick late in the game which gave the Bulldogs a tie with King City and Polo for the conference championship.
South Harrison’s defense stopped a King City two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 20-18 victory over the WildKats for a piece of the Grand River Conference Friday night in a hard fought game at Wehrli Stadium.
King City, which came into the game with a 5-0 GRC record, moved down the field in the closing minutes of the game capitalizing on several Bulldog penalties. The WildKats scored with just under a minute to play when Devin Breckenridge threw a pass to Noah Polling who juggled the ball while falling out of bounds.
After a sideline judge ruled the pass incomplete, the back judge overruled his call and signaled a touchdown. Bulldog coaches said that Poling caught the ball out of bounds and probably was short of the goal line anyway, but after conferring at midfield for several minutes the refs awarded the touchdown, giving the WildKats a chance to go for a 2-point conversion.
The South Harrison defense, which had bottled up King City’s ground game most of the night, stopped Breckenridge on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game.
King City tried an onside kick, but the Bulldogs’ Grant Taylor jumped on the ball and South Harrison was able to run out the clock.
King City was in control of its destiny going into the game after upsetting Polo the previous week. South Harrison’s victory allowed the Bulldogs to tie King City and Polo for the conference championship.
The irony is that the WildKats will be playing 8-man football next year after experiencing their best season in 38 years.
The dramatic finish to the game should not distract from a truly outstanding performance by running back J.D. Johnson who rushed 15 times for 205 yards prompting one exuberant fan to shout out, “Catch a ride on the Johnson train!”
Johnson, who has rushed for 1,195 yards this season, made a spectacular 45-yard touchdown run to open a 13-6 lead. The Bulldog senior took the pitch and ran down the sideline plowing through several defenders on his way to the score. Minutes later he made another 91-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a comfortable 20-6 lead.
The WildKats took a 6-0 first quarter lead on a 7-yard pass from Breckenridge to Poling. The drive was helped when the Bulldogs were called for roughing the passer, one of a flurry of penalties called against the visitors during the night. The King City’s pass came on fourth down after Mason Doll and Max Clark recorded a pair of sacks during the drive. King City’s kick failed.
Leading 6-0 at the half, King City threatened to score more points on a long pass by Breckenridge but the Bulldogs jarred the ball loose and Treyton Campbell recovered the ball.
Bulldog quarterback Cody Weller hit Chris Spence for first down. Weller ran for 5 yards, but the Bulldogs were called for a block in the back. The Bulldogs recovered from the penalty when Stanton Blake scored on a 35-yard run and Mason Doll kicked the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead.
The Bulldog defense tightened up when Kasey McFall made a big hit on Breckenridge followed by a sack by Bryce Kirk.
Blake broke a long return to the 33 yard line followed up by a run by Johnson. That’s when Johnson scored on a 45-yard run that made the score 13-6 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
A minute later, Johnson scored his second touchdown on a run from his own 19-yard line, with the Bulldogs taking a 20-6 lead.
King City marched down the field when Breckenridge escaped a tackle at the Bulldog 6. He finished the drive on a 1-yard plunge over the goal line. After the conversion failed, the Bulldogs led 20-12 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldog defense continued to make plays on Breckenridge. But the WildKats got a break when the Bulldogs were called on a facemask penalty. After one of Breckenridge’s passes was batted down by Blake, the King City quarterback threw a strike to Poling who, after some protesting from the Bulldog sideline, was ruled in bounds for the touchdown. That’s when the Bulldog defense came up strong to stop the WildKats on an attempt to tie the game on a 2-point conversion