Cullman romps past North Jefferson

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CULLMAN – Cullman's seventh- and eighth-grade football teams were superior on the turf at Oliver Woodard Stadium Thursday night.

The two squads dominated North Jefferson to remain undefeated on the young season.

The seventh-grade team rolled to a 36-6 victory, scoring on their first four possessions and getting a touchdown by the defense late in the contest.

Cullman forced five turnovers in the eighth-grade game and collected 287 yards in total offense for a 46-0 shutout. Like the younger squad, the eighth-grade Bearcats were in the end zone the first four times they operated on offense.

In the seventh-grade contest under humid conditions, the Bearcats led 8-0 after the first quarter, in which they outgained North Jefferson 60 to -7.

A 61-yard drive after a North Jefferson punt put Cullman in front 8-0 when quarterback Hayden Stancil threw an 11-yard TD to John Blackwood with both working together on the 2-point conversion.

The Bearcats were really flexing their muscles in the second period, netting 115 yards with two touchdown drives coming from 50 yards out. Andrew Conway broke through for a 38-yard score with 7:53 to go in the quarter and the conversion from Stancil to Jake Dueland made it 16-0.

Max Gambrill completed the first-half domination by the Bearcat offense, taking it in from the 14. The conversion run was good by Gambrill and it was 24-0 Cullman at halftime. The Bearcats had 175 yards of offense through two quarters, allowing the Blue Devils -5.

Getting the second half kickoff, the Bearcats drove it back to the North Jefferson end zone as the series came to a close on a 5-yard sweep by Jamar Kay. The conversion failed and the score was 30-0.

North Jefferson was threatening to score when the Blue Devils fumbled the ball. Jacob Brooks got the ball and scampered 55 yards for the TD to close out the Bearcat scoring parade with 4:55 remaining in the game.

The visitors did get a touchdown pass of 53 yards to avoid a shutout. This came with 3:35 left and the final score was Cullman 36, North Jefferson 6.

Conway led the Cullman runners with seven carries for 84 yards and a TD, Kay netted 42 yards on four runs and scored once. The Bearcats had eight to run the football and gain 251 yards on the night.

Bearcat eighth-grade impressive performance

Cullman forced two fumbles by North Jefferson in the first quarter that set the tone for the evening. The first stopped the initial drive of the game with the Blue Devils going from their 21, only to lose the ball on a pass play with Cullman recovering at its 31-yard line.

In one play, Ethan Echols raced 69 yards around right end to give the Bearcats the lead with 2:40 to play in the first. The conversion failed and it was 6-0.

North Jefferson mishandled the kickoff with Jaden Kay getting the ball for the Bearcats at the Blue Devils' 17. On the first play of the second period, the Bearcats went up 14-0 on a 3-yard run from Joseph Sheppard and a 2-point pass by Max Dueland to Echols.

Another North Jefferson series ended with a fumble after gaining yardage from its 16 to the Cullman 47. The Bearcats followed that miscue with another score, this one on a 16-yard run by Sheppard and a 2-point conversion from Jaylen Hughey to make it 22-0 with 4:15 showing on the clock.

A squib kick was touched by a North Jefferson lineman near midfield with Napoleon Jones recovering for the Bearcats. This time, Cullman went to the air as Dueland and Jones teamed up for a 49-yard touchdown with Hughey scoring the conversion and Cullman enjoying a 30-0 cushion when the game reached halftime.

The Bearcats had 187 yards of offense by the break, North Jefferson gained 98 yards, but was plagued by four fumbles that led to all four Cullman touchdown drives.

In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats drove 54 yards to get their first score of the final half with Sheppard taking it from the 19. Hughey got another 2-point conversion to push the margin to 38-0 with 6:17 left.

North Jefferson's only series in the fourth ended with a fumble. The Bearcats' James Moore was on the recovery at the Blue Devil 34. In two minutes, Cullman closed it out, scoring on a 1-yard run by Brennen Norton. Norton gained 37 yards on the drive, running it three times and finding his way to the end zone.

Kay got the final conversion and Cullman had its first eighth-grade shutout of the year, 46-0.

The Bearcats won the total offense with 287 yards to 100 for the Blue Devils. Cullman compiled 181 yards passing on 6 of 6 completions by Dueland. Jones had three catches for 103 yards and a TD.

Cullman's teams will take off next week and resume the schedule at Oliver Woodard Stadium on Sept. 22 against Oak Park Middle School from Decatur. The seventh grade will play at 5 p.m. with the eighth grade to start around 6:30 p.m.

   

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