SPORTS

Royals beat Indians, 38-33
By Joey Marchant
Dodge made the trip to Cochran for the second straight year due to region realignment. The game was moved up to Thursday night due to weather concerns. Dodge came into this one with a full roster and no one under COVID-19 quarantine. However, they were playing on four days rest due to having played the previous Saturday. As we have come to expect from the Dodge-Bleckley Rivalry, this game had a little bit of everything. There were big plays, controversy, huge swings in momentum, turnovers, trick plays, stoppages in play, a special teams touchdown, an ejection and a safety.
Bleckley won the toss and deferred to the second half. After the first kickoff went out of bounds, Coach Cofer declined the opportunity to take the ball at the Dodge 35 yard line showing supreme confidence in his return team. Ultimately, Keldrick Beck was stopped at the Dodge 22 yard line on the second kick. Mikhail Carr started behind center and took the first snap on a quarterback sweep right for 20 yards as he followed Daylon Gordon and tight roped the sideline. Gordon then carried for 6 yards, but Carr was stopped for no gain bringing up third down. Hunter Kirkley entered the ballgame at quarterback and threw a pass that sailed through the hands of Beck on the sideline. Mason Mangham came in to punt and had to deal with a high snap that veered right. Mangham did a great job of fielding the ball and getting the ball away, which landed on the Bleckley 32 yard line and just sat there. It doesn’t help Mangham’s stat line, but it was a big play to get it off cleanly. The Dodge Defense forced a three and out.
Dodge took possession at its 33 yard line after the punt. Kirkley hit Beck with a 2 yard pass. Then Dodge ran the counter play to Gordon who took it 65 yards down the sideline for the touchdown. Dodge pulled Jared Frost and Clay Lee on the play, but more than anything, Gordon just outran everyone to the end zone. Beck ran the conversion in for two points to give Dodge an 8-0 lead.
Mangham attempted a high pooch kick but put a little too much on it as the kick sailed out of bounds and Bleckley took possession at its 35 yard line. The Royals completed a slant route, and Dodge missed a tackle that led to a 41 yard gain to the Dodge 24 yard line. The Dodge Defense stiffened inside the 10 yard line. Beck broke up a pass in the end zone that was almost intercepted. However, Bleckley punched it in on fourth down from the 1 yard line. Cameron Mils stood up the Royal receiver at the goal line on the two point attempt, and Dodge led 8-6.
The ensuing kickoff was fielded by Beck who ran untouched up the middle behind a wedge of Dodge blockers for an 84 yard touchdown. Dodge was flagged for excessive celebration, which was enforced on the extra point attempt. Mangham’s attempt was no good. Dodge led 14-6.
Good kickoff coverage by Dodge and a block below the waist by the Royals would back Bleckley up to its own 10 yard line. Bleckley broke off a 39 yard run on first down to get the ball near midfield. The Dodge Defense would stiffen and force a punt. Beck made the mistake of trying to do too much and field the ball in traffic. The ball bounced off his shoulder pad, and Bleckley recovered the fumble at the Dodge 19 yard line. Bleckley scored a touchdown on the very next play. On the two point attempt, Bleckley ran its version of the reverse pass made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl a few years ago. Mills intercepted the pass in the end zone to deny Bleckley points. Dodge led 14-12.
The Bleckley kickoff went out of bounds, and this time Dodge elected to take it at the 35 yard line. Kirkley hit Kevin Sykes, Jr. for a gain of 7 yards. However, a pass to Tyrese Johnson lost 2 yards, and Kirkley’s third down attempt to Sykes fell incomplete. Mangham got off a 49 yard punt that rolled dead at the Bleckley 11 yard line.
Bleckley used a long run and two defensive penalties against Dodge to drive to the Dodge 3 yard line. However, Gordon dropped the running back for a 3 yard loss, and Mills defended a pass in the end zone to force a field goal attempt. The field goal was good, and Bleckley led 15-14.
Jalon Jaynes caught a short kickoff and returned it to the Dodge 35 yard line. On third down, Kirkley hit Johnson with a 34 yard pass to the Bleckley 30 yard line. Johnson beat his man and managed to get one foot down in bounds. Later a fourth down pass to Johnson would fall incomplete in the end zone turning the ball over to the Royals.
The Dodge Defense forced a punt, and Dodge got the ball back on its 25 yard line. Kirkley hit Johnson on a 46 yard pass play to the Bleckley County 16 yard line. However, a fake field goal would fail and Dodge turned it over to Bleckley County. The Dodge Defense forced another three and out, and Dodge got the ball back at the Dodge 26 yard line.
Dodge moved the ball down the field with runs of 12 yards and 10 yards by Gordon. Kirkley hit Sykes for 5 yards and Johnson for 8 yards before throwing a 34 yard touchdown pass to Beck just before half. Mangham drilled the extra point, and Dodge led 21-15 at halftime.
The third quarter was a catastrophe for Dodge. Dodge had a player ejected for trading punches with a Bleckley County player. Bleckley scored touchdowns on three straight possessions while the Dodge Defense offered little resistance. Meanwhile the Dodge offense went three and out on its first two possessions of the first half. Bleckley led 36-21 when Daylon Gordon broke a 75 yard touchdown run around right end to cut the Bleckley lead to 36-27. A two point attempt resulted in Kirkley throwing to offensive tackle Landynn Powers who crossed the goal line for an apparent two point conversion. The referees twice signaled the attempt was successful as they discussed the play for several minutes. Eventually the referees got the call right and ruled illegal touching on the play as Powers was not an eligible receiver. The play was designed for Powers to give ground and catch a lateral from Kirkley, which would have allowed him to legally catch the football.
Bleckley would again drive inside the Dodge 10 yard line, but the Dodge Defense would hold and force a turnover on downs. Carr lined up at quarterback and ran for gains of 22 yards and 18 yards. Kirkley hit Beck for a gain of 12 yards and Gordon picked up 17 yards. Kirkley passed to Davis Marchant for 13 yards. Gordon would eventually score on a 15 yard run after running through a tackle on the goal line. Mangham’s extra point attempt was no good, and Bleckley led 36-33.
Bleckley would have a long drive to chew up clock before Gordon recovered a Bleckley fumble on the Dodge 22 yard line. However, Dodge could not move the ball. The punt snap went over Mangham’s head resulting in a safety and giving Bleckley a 38-33 lead. Dodge had to kickoff to Bleckley, and Mangham attempted an onside kick. However, Bleckley recovered on the Dodge 30 yard line, and it appeared the Royals would run out the clock.
However, the Dodge Defense held and forced a turnover on downs giving Dodge the ball with about a minute to play and no timeouts. On fourth down and fourteen yards to go, Carr took a shotgun snap from center and ran for 13 yards where he was tackled as he slipped trying to cut back effectively ending the game. Bleckley took a knee to run out the clock and preserve the 38-33 victory.
With less than five minutes to go, Noah Cummings collapsed on the sideline from what would later be diagnosed as extreme dehydration. He was carted off to a waiting ambulance. Numerous players, fans, and coaches showed up at the hospital to check on Noah. He received great treatment at Dodge County Hospital and was released in the early morning hours on Friday. He is doing well.
Dodge falls to 1-3 having lost all three games by six points or less. Dodge has a scheduled off week this week before hosting Jasper County High (also known as Monticello High) in a region game on October 23.