ADDISON, Ala. – The preseason third-ranked 1A Addison Bulldogs hosted the Marion County Red Raiders for a jamboree game on Friday night and, in dominant fashion, took down the Red Raiders 53-6. This game was never close, and the only thing that the Bulldogs found out about themselves is that they may be deeper than they thought, with their second-and-third-stringers defeating the Red Raiders’ starters 12-0 in the second half with a running clock. It must be said that Marion County’s starting quarterback was injured and will miss the first few games of the season, but it may not have mattered much in this game.
Addison received the opening kickoff (kicks and punts were non-returnable in this game) and started their first possession at their own 25-yard line. On the games’ first offensive snap, Bulldog senior quarterback Elijah Roberts found Conner Lane streaking down the seam for a 75-yard touchdown pass, with Lane going in untouched. Lane then kicked the extra point, and with only 15 seconds off the clock Addison led 7-0, foreshadowing the rest of the night.
On Marion County’s first play, Raider freshman quarterback Jaxson Seals found Elijah Belk for a nice 11-yard pass and a first down. The next three plays netted the Raiders negative 14 yards, and they had to punt.Â
Addison’s second possession started out badly, as the Bulldogs found themselves facing a first-and-25 after a penalty from their own 45-yard line. An 11-yard Zane Smith run, and a 19-yard pass from Roberts to Smith gave them a first down at the Raiders’ 19. After a nice 11-yard pass from Roberts to Tanner Gaither put the ball down to the Raider eight, Roberts ran it in from there for the Dawgs’ second touchdown. The extra point was no good, and with 8:50 to go in the first quarter Addison led 13-0.
The next big play for the ‘Dawgs, Lane picked off a Raider pass and returned it 38 yards down to the Raider two-yard line. Addison’s Smith rambled in from two yards out on the next play and Lane added the extra point, and Addison had jumped out to a 20-0 lead with still 4:57 left in the opening quarter.
After forcing another Raider punt, Addison fumbled the ball away on their own 38-yard line with Raider Desmond Smith scooping up the ball and returning it down to the Bulldog 16-yard line. The Raiders facing a second-and-9 from the Dawg fifteen, Seals threw a nice pass, and Roman Bellamy made a great catch over the Bulldog defender, who had good coverage, for the Raider touchdown. The extra point was no good, and the score stood at 20-6, Addison, with 1:18 to go in the first quarter.
Addison scored again on their first play from scrimmage, as Roberts found Ben Bridges for a 70-yard catch and run for the touchdown.  Lane kicked the extra point, and at the end of the first quarter, Addison held a commanding 27-6 lead.
After another Raider punt, Addison took over at their own 45-yard line. Addison got down to the Raider 33-yard line, but penalties pushed them all the back to the 44-yard line of the Raiders, and Addison faced a fourth-and-20. Bulldog Head Man Mark Hastings decided to go for it, and Roberts found Gaither streaking across the middle for a 44-yard touchdown pass. The Lane extra point made it 34-6 with 6:27 left in the first half.
Addison was able to stop Marion County on downs at the Dawg 29-yard line, and took over with just 32 seconds left in the half. After Roberts found Lane on two consecutive 9-yard passes, Addison had the ball at their own 44 with six seconds left on the clock. Roberts then hit Scout Flynn with a short pass, and Flynn went down the home sideline, running over three Raiders for a touchdown from 56 yards out on the last play of the half. The extra point was good by Lane, and Addison led 41-6 at halftime.
The second half was played with a running clock, and the Dawgs scored on a Smith 43-yard run to put Addison up 47-6. Addison’s young ones had a Kash Turner 1-yard run for the final score, sealing a 53-6 Addison win. Â
The Addison defense held Marion County to only crossing midfield twice, while the offense did anything they wanted. Addison will travel to Winston County High School next Friday to take on their arch rival 2A Yellow Jackets in the regular seasonn opener. Â
Unofficial stats:
Addison ran 15 total passing plays for 326 total yards, and 18 total rushing plays for 173 total yards. In 33 overall plays, the Bulldogs racked up 499 yards of offense. Marion County, however, ran 15 total pass plays for 42 yards and 30 total running plays for a total of 112 total yards, only amassing 154 total yards on 45 plays.
Addison’s Roberts was 8-8 passing with 261 yards and three touchdowns, and Zeke Wiggins was 2-5 for 65 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs rushing attack was led by Zane Smith, who had four carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Joey Wilson had three carries for 41 yards and Turner had four carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, Roberts had two carries for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Receiving, the ‘Dawgs were led by Lane with four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Next, Flynn had one catch for 56 yards and a touchdown and Gaither had two catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. Bridges also had one catch for 70 yards and a touchdown, Silas Frazier had one catch for 21 yards and Smith had one catch for 19 yards. Â
On defense, Addison was led by Nick Nail with four tackles, followed by Smith and Major Snoddy with three each. Roberts, Brady Daniel, Skylar Cleghorn, Turner and Caleb Gregory also had two each.
