Published: September 10, 2008 10:08 am         

Big fourth quarter lifts McAdams

Two weeks ago the McAdams Bulldogs fumbled the ball away six times in its season-opening loss to Noxapater.

The tables were turned on Friday night as McAdams took advantage of seven South Leake turnovers to take a solid 20-8 win over the visiting Wildcats.

“That was a whole lot more fun,” said McAdams second-year head coach Ras Bayles. “We recovered six fumbles and had an interception and that really made the difference.”

But Bayles was quick to admit that the win didn’t come with ease.

“South Leake has a good football team,” he said. “They were very physical and really beat us up. It was a challenge, but our kids met that challenge and I’m very proud of them.”

The win puts the Bulldogs at 1-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 3-1A play on the season. Next up is a road trip to face an Edinburg team that has lost 55 consecutive games.

“You know they are going to be hungry for a win,” Bayles said. “It’s a big opportunity for us, but they will be playing hard trying to stop that streak.”

Following the Edinburg game McAdams faces MHSAA Class 1A power Durant and Weir on back-to-back Friday nights.

“I really feel good about how we played Friday night,” Bayles said. “We saw a big improvement form the first game. The kids kept playing hard. We are trying to get things turned around. We haven’t had a winning season in 13 years and that’s something we would like to change.”

The Bulldogs began that change on Friday with the two-touchdown win over South Leake, a team many area observers thought had a chance at earning one of the region’s four playoff spots.

After a scoreless first quarter, McAdams took an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter when Kezean Ross barreled in for a touchdown from three-yards out, then ran in the two-point conversion.

South Leake tied the game at 8-8 in the third quarter on a 5-yard run and a two-point conversion.

But the Bulldogs took advantage of South Leake miscues in the fourth quarter to score two touchdowns and earn the win.

“Every drive they started in the fourth quarter ended in a fumble,” Bayles said.

McAdams took a 14-8 lead on a 29-yard run by Ross, then put it away later in the fourth on Ross’ 3-yard scoring run.

Kentwain Mosley led the Bulldogs with 46 rushing yards on seven carries, while Ross had 39 yards on nine attempts. Junior quarterback Malcolm Fisher completed 5-of-10 passes for 32 yards, while John Allen had four catches for 43 yards and Camorod Nelson led the way defensively with seven tackles.