Silver Outshines Blue

Silver Bulldogs leave the field after their 24-0 victory

photo by Jamie Williams

September 11th, 2007

Warrensville, NC-

Under a cloudy sky, covered with rain and mud, apparently silver still shines. Well, at least on the football field. On an evening that brought friend against friend, classmate against classmate, Ashe County Middle School’s Blue and Silver Bulldog football teams put pride and bragging rights on the line in the first of two annual head-to-head match-ups.

Sparked by two early first quarter touchdowns by tailbacks Josh Wineburg and Eli Gamble, the Silver Bulldogs took an early 16-0 lead in the contest and virtually dominated from start to finish.

Despite taking over possession of the football in Silver territory four times in the first half, Ashe’s Blue Bulldogs failed to take advantage of their field position and couldn't seem to get rolling on offense. Hampered by a slick field, Blue’s offensive line could not hold their ground against Silver’s defensive charge. Facing a fourth and one on Silver’s two yard line early in the second quarter, the Blue Bulldogs failed to get enough of a push up front to gain the one yard that would have given them first and goal on Silver’s one yard line. On their very next possession, Blue once again found themselves with a fourth down situation. This time needing six yards from Silver’s 15-yard line, and again they were unable to convert. Left with third and long on multiple other possessions the Blue Bulldog’s repeatedly placed themselves in passing situations where Silver’s defensive pass rush forced Blue ’s quarterback combination of Matthew Sexton and Cole Goss to attempt throws while scrambling from blitzers—something that never works well in wet, slick conditions.

Blue Bulldog's QB Matthew Sexton scrambles out of the pocket during Tuesday evenings game against the Silver Bulldogs
photo by Jamie Williams

In contrast, the Silver Bulldogs used their size advantage at running back to keep the ball on the ground and between the tackles, occasionally rolling quarterback Sam Gammons outside when Blue’s defense was lured in by Silver’s potent running attack.

With a 16-0 lead at halftime, the Silver Bulldogs started the third quarter with another quick strike, this time on defense when a Matthew Sexton pass was picked off by defensive back Blake Huffman and returned 31 yards for a score. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was now 24-0 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
Blue Bulldog’s next two possessions led to punts and when a late fourth quarter drive ended in another Matthew Sexton interception on Silver’s nine yard line, any chance of comeback diminished.

The Blue Bulldogs will have their chance at redemption when the two teams meet again at 6:00pm on October 9th at Ashe County Middle School. They will look to rebound from Tuesday’s loss when they take on Johnson County at home on the 18th of this month. Kick-off for that game will be at 5:00pm.
The Silver Bulldogs will try to carry the momentum from Tuesday’s win over to their home meeting with Watauga also on the 18th. Game time is scheduled for 6:30pm.