The Brantley High School Bulldogs have successfully secured another round in the playoffs after defeating the Marengo Panthers 55-38.

“I thought our offensive line played really well. We challenged those guys up front. They did a good job and responded, and we were able to run the football really well, ” said BHS Head Coach Ashley Kilcrease.

“Mack Wise was hurt, but Parker Driggers, Tommy Spivey and Tyler Booker all stepped in and filled the void there; we rushed for over 300 yards. We were very pleased with our offensive line.”

Beginning the first quarter, senior wide receiver Tommy Spivey ran a 17-yard touchdown with no extra point earned with the kick. After tying the score and advancing two points ahead of the Bulldogs, the score was 8-6 in favor of Marengo.

But the Bulldogs did not stay behind long as sophomore wide receiver Mitchell Hudson ran a 1-yard touchdown. Following close behind was sophomore wide receiver Parker Driggers running in a 14-yard touchdown; the Bulldogs led 20-8 going into the second quarter.

Beginning the second quarter, Driggers ran a 20-yard touchdown with an extra point earned with a kick by senior defensive end Tucker Owens.

Closely following Driggers with an 80-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jacob Free was junior wide receiver D’Andre Sinclair; an extra point was earned with a kick by Owens.

Finishing off the second, Spivey brought home a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior tight end Nathan Renfroe; an extra point was earned with a kick by Owens, making the score 41-8.

Putting the only points on the board in the third quarter was junior wide receiver Adrian Person, Jr., with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Free.

As the game came to a close, sophomore running back Tyler Booker brought in the last touchdown for the Bulldogs with a 55-yard run; Owens earned an extra point for the Bulldogs with a kick.

This week, the Bulldogs will travel to Maplesville on Friday to take on the Red Devils.

“It’s playoffs. It’s do or die, win or go home, so we played that way,” Kilcrease said.

“Maplesville is the defending state champion two years in a row. They’ve won every game this year by a large margin. We just need to win the first quarter. This is one of those weeks you hear coaches talk about all the time. No one is going to give us the chance to win besides the people in the locker room. So, we have to do a good job of selling our kids on the fact that we can go in. This is playoffs and anything can happen.”