ADDISON, Ala. – After suffering their first loss of the season to the ranked 4A Good Hope Raiders last week, the Bulldogs were back home at A.G. Hicks Stadium Friday night for a region game against Waterloo. Addison was in control of this one from start to finish and improved to 4-0 in the region with a 45-0 win over the Cougars.
The festivities kicked off with stunning Senior Maggie Gilliland being named Addison’s 2025 Homecoming Queen. Miss Gilliland will represent the school well as she has a very accomplished academic record as well as being a cheerleader for the Bulldogs. The Bulldog Band under the direction of Garrett McCurley, who is in his seventh year as director, has the band improving dramatically each week of the season. Well done Bulldog Band members.
Addison also honored a longtime teacher and band director who passed away unexpectedly this year. Mr. Jim Head led an adventurous life, traveling the world and becoming a beloved member of the faculty of Addison for over 27 years. Mr. Head led the band for over seventeen years and was a respected colleague to his fellow teachers and was extremely well liked by his students. Mr. Head was represented by his widow Emily and his daughter Ellen at midfield prior to kickoff.
The night did not get started well for the Bulldogs as they failed to recover the opening kickoff, a squib kick, and Waterloo took over at the Bulldog 30-yard line. After the Cougars lost 4 yards on first down, Scout Flynn picked off a Cougar pass and returned it to the Bulldog 15-yard line. Addison’s opening play had Bulldog QB Elijah Roberts hitting Trennon Burns for 45 yards all the way down to the Cougar 40-yard line. Five plays later, four of them completed passes, Roberts hit Judah Wilkins for 12 yards and a touchdown. The extra point was no good and with 9:12 to go in the first quarter, Addison led 6-0.
On Waterloo’s next possession, the Bulldogs defense forced a fumble, recovered by Brye Dollar at the Cougar 30-yard line. Six plays later, Seth Hammack went untouched 22 yards for the Dawgs second touchdown. Roberts found Michael Lee with the two-point conversion pass and with 6:06 left in the first quarter, Addison had a 14-0 lead.
Addison’s Silas Frazier picked off a Cougar pass, the first of three interceptions young Mr. Frazier would get on the night at the Cougar 49-yard line. Five plays later, Roberts scrambled 24 yards for the touchdown and with the missed extra point, Addison led 20-0 with a little over three minutes left in the first quarter.
Frazier got another pick on the Cougars’ second play of their next possession, and it only took the Dawgs four plays to score. Addison’s Hammack went in from 14 yards out for his second touchdown and Addison had stretched the lead to 26-0 with another missed extra point.
Frazier got his third interception in three consecutive possessions, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their own 40. Three plays later, Zane Smith ran it in from 51 yards to up Addison’s lead to 33-0 after the Connor Lane extra point. There was still 11:00 minutes to go in the half.
The half would end with this score and Addison Head Coach Mark Hastings started subbing in the young pups.
With a running clock to start the second half, Addison forced a Cougar punt and took over at midfield. Three plays later, Roberts found the end zone from 8 yards out. The extra point was missed and Addison led 39-0 with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Waterloo’s next drive had them picking up two first downs but the young pups forced the Cougars to punt giving the Bulldogs possession at their own 35-yard line.
Quarterback Zeke Wiggins, not sure he even has a driving permit yet, threw a beautiful 28-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Gaither for the touchdown. Coach Hastings wasn’t running up the score on the overmatched Cougars, he was just allowing his young ones to play football. The extra point was missed to put Addison in front 45-0 and that is how the game would end.
Unofficial stats
Addison ran 22 rushing plays for 261 total yards. Addison ran 22 passing plays for a total of 232 yards. Addison ran 44 plays for 493 total yards. Waterloo ran 24 rushing plays for 23 total yards. Waterloo ran 9 passing plays for 48 total yards. Waterloo ran 33 total plays for 71 total yards.
Addison was led by Roberts with 11 completions in 14 attempts for 183 yards with a touchdown. Wiggins went 2 for 4 for 49 yards and a touchdown and interception.
Addison had Smith with 5 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown. Roberts 5 carries for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hammack with 4 carries for 59 yards and 2 touchdowns. Joey Wilson had 2 carries for 29 yards. Carson McCaleb had 1 carry for 14 yards.
Addison had Wilkins with 5 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Burns with 2 catches for 66 yards. Gaither had 2 grabs for 49 yards and a touchdown. Lane had 1 catch for 30 yards. Major Snoddy had 1 catch for 7 yards. Frazier had 1 catch for 10 yards. Hammack had 1 catch for 5 yards.
On defense, Addison was led by Tanner Morgan with 6 tackles. Brady Daniel had 4 tackles. Skylar Cleghorn had 3 tackles. Michael Lee, Brye Dollar, Casen Hill, Carson McCaleb and Silas Frazier had 2 each. Frazier had 3 interceptions and Scout Flynn had 1. Lee had a sack. Dollar had a fumble recovery.
Addison improves to 6-1 (4-0 region) and will host region rival Meek next Friday and Addison will be looking to lock up the region championship with a win. Addison secured a playoff berth with the win tonight.
