Bulldogs Outgunned By Chipley

By Clint Cox

If you were looking for a defensive showcase, Bulldog Stadium last Friday night was not the place to be as the Chipley Tigers outgunned the Marianna Bulldogs 49-42. In addition to combining for 91 points, the two squads combined for 984 yards of offense on the evening. Marianna had 463 yards of offense while Chipley racked up 521 yards.

Both squads scored in the first quarter as Chipley took a 7-0 lead and then Tre Jackson ripped off a 71 yard scoring run for Marianna. Ryan Rudd added the point after kick to make it a 7-7 game going into the second quarter. After another Chipley score Marianna’s Fidel Montgomery rambled 57 yards to score Another Rudd extra point kick tied it a 14-14. The Tigers went up 20-14 with just over a minute to play in the half. Marianna was through though as R.J. Bowers broke a run with :35 seconds and bolted 58 yards to score. After a miscue on the extra point snap, Jackson scrambled to find the end zone and give Marianna a 22-20 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs appeared to be putting the game away in the third quarter as a 48 yard run by Jackson and a 17 yard run by Chris Bowers gave Marianna a 35-20 lead with three minutes into the second half. But Chipley rallied with two late third quarter touchdowns to tie the game at 35-35 going into the final quarter. The Tigers then took the lead midway through the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs came right back less than two minutes later. Jackson reeled off a 54 yard scoring run and Rudd added the extra point kick to tie the game at 42-42 with five minutes to play. Chipley marched down the field and with just under two minutes remaining scored the go ahead touchdown. Marianna had one last shot but time elapsed with the Bulldogs in Tiger territory.

Jackson led Marianna with 219 yards and 3 scores while R.J. Bowers added 127 yards on the ground. Chipley had three ball carriers that topped the 100 yard mark. With the loss Marianna fell to 4-4 on the season but more importantly 1-2 in district play. Marianna will play host to Port St. Joe this Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

The Bulldogs could have secured a likely playoff spot with a win but the loss threw the district into chaos. Chipley and Pensacola Catholic play on November 6th to close out the district games. A Chipley loss would result in a three way tie for the runner up spot between Chipley, Marianna and Walton. If that occurs there will be a tie breaker held to determine the runner up for the playoffs. In a three way tie the team with the best record would host the tie breaker and claim the #1 seed. A Chipley win over Catholic would give the district title to the Tigers and the runner up spot to the Crusaders.