Rockets take down Bulldawgs

Nashville, TN-The top seed in the Xtreme West was up for grabs June 9th as the #1 Huntsville Rockets traveled to Nashville to take on the #3 Middle Tennessee Bulldawgs in a top five heavy weight bout.

The Huntsville Rockets defense stood strong as expected on the first drive of the game forcing a Bulldawg punt. Rocket return man J. Chandler received the punt at his own 25 yard line and scampered 75 yards down the sideline for the game’s first touchdown. The point after touchdown by R. Johnson was good and the Rockets took an early 7-0 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first quarter. The Rocket defense would rise to the occasion again on the next possession as cornerback T.J. Whitman Jr. intercepted a deflected Bulldawg pass on the Rockets’ five yard line.

The Rocket offense would not get going though due to Bulldawgs’ pressure defense. Bulldawg defensive end Steven Turner forced a fumble on third down and short and scooped and scored from 11 yards out. The extra point by Simon Hill was wide right was and the Rockets held on to a 7-6 lead with 6:45 left to go in the first quarter. On the very next Rockets possession, quarterback Clark was pressured from the pocket, by Turner again and his pass was intercepted by the Bulldawg linebacker AJ Johnson who returned it to the Rocket  three yard line. On second down, Bulldawg running back Keon Bohannon punched it in to give his team a 12-7 lead with 6:01 left to go in the 1st quarter.

On the next drive, Clark threw a swing pass to Ryan Watson and he took it 50 yards for a Rockets touchdown. The point after was no good and the Rockets regained the lead 13-12. The Rockets defense would close out the first half with a safety to go into the half with a 15-12 lead.

The 3rd quarter was a defensive battle but, the Bulldawgs would take back momentum. On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Bulldawg quarterback Zach Ducker found speedy receiver Antwan Edmondson for a 60 yard touchdown strike. The PAT was good and with 13:19 left to go in the game, the Bulldawgs took a 19-15 lead.

The Rockets would answer on a gutsy forth down pass by Clark to Watson for a 34 yard touchdown pass that was tipped by a Bulldawg defender. The PAT was blocked and with 4:39 left in the game, the Rockets took a 21-19 lead.

The Bulldawgs would not go down without a fight. With 2:35 left to go in the game, the Bulldogs Ducker once again hit Edmondson on a pretty 45yd touchdown strike for the go ahead score. The two point attempt was no good and with 2:26 left to go in the game, the Bulldawgs took back the lead at 25-21.

Could the Rockets muster a come back? With 1:59 left to go in the game, Clark found an open C. Ungacta who broke a couple of tackles and carried a defender into the end-zone for a Rockets touchdown. The PAT was no good and with 1:25 left to go in the game, the Rockets were back on top 27-25.

The Bulldawgs returned the kickoff back to their own 35 yard line. With the game on the line Ducker would be intercepted on first down by Rocket Safety #25 W. Parker to seal the game for the top ranked Rockets.