GUIN, Ala. – After dominating their second-round matchup against Berry 39-6 last week, the Bulldogs hit the road for a quarterfinal battle at Marion County Thursday night. The Red Raiders were able to build a 16-8 lead over Addison in the first half, but the Bulldogs’ offense started to click in the second half, putting 20 more points on the board to come from behind and win it 28-22, securing a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2016.
Marion County put together an impressive drive on its opening possession, moving the ball down the field and into the end zone for an early, 8-0 lead over Addison. The Bulldogs responded on the ensuing possession, moving into the red zone with a big pickup on a pass from quarterback Elijah Roberts down the sideline to Scout Flynn. A few plays later, Judah Wilkins took a handoff on a jet sweep into the end zone from 5 yards out to get Addison on the board. Roberts punched in the two-point conversion and the game was tied at 8 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Marion County turned it over on downs early in the second quarter and the Bulldogs punted it back to them with eight minutes to play in the first half. Addison made a big play on defense when Conner Lane intercepted a Red Raider pass, but the Bulldogs were forced to punt a few plays later. That’s when Marion County put together another nice drive, capping it with a 21-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half to extend its lead to 16-8 going into the locker room at the break.
Addison got off to a fast start in the second half, scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Wilkins to cut the lead to 16-14 with just under eight minutes to play in the third quarter. The Bulldogs made big plays in the secondary as well. On the ensuing possession, Wilkins laid out to make a touchdown-saving deflection and on the next play, a tipped ball was intercepted by Trennon Burns and returned all the way down to the 30-yard line.
Early in the fourth quarter, a big gain on a pass from Roberts to Seth Hammack moved the ball down inside the Red Raiders’ 5-yard line, setting up a 4-yard Roberts touchdown run a couple plays later. Roberts added a two-point pass to put the Bulldogs in front 22-16 with eight minutes on the clock. Addison came up with another big play on defense later in the fourth when Joey Wilson came up with a sack on fourth down to force a turnover on downs. The Bulldogs punted it away a few plays later, but another Marion County turnover gave it back to Addison on the 2-yard line. Hammack punched it in on the next play to make it a 28-16 game with 3:45 remaining.
The Red Raiders were able to put together a nice drive and score another touchdown with 23 seconds on the clock, but the Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure a 28-22 win and punch their ticket to the semifinals.
Addison (12-1) will face the winner of Wadley and Hubbertville next week.
Copyright 2025 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
