Priceville battles from behind in 37-36 win over North Jackson
The Priceville Bulldogs traveled to North Jackson Friday night for a Class 4A, Region 7 matchup against the Chiefs.
The Bulldogs were looking for their second-ever win at RD Hicks Stadium. Their first win came in 2015, 43-40.
North Jackson dominated the visiting Bulldogs for much of the first half Friday, and the Chiefs built 28-8 lead with three minutes left in the first half – but that was not the end of the story.
The Bulldogs got their first score of the night midway through the first quarter following a 10-play, 62-yard drive. Jerry Burton scored on a two-yard run. With a two-point conversion, the Bulldogs tied the game at 8-8.
The first nine minutes of the second quarter was all North Jackson, with 20 unanswered points. A Bulldog fumble led to six points during the scoring run by the Chiefs.
Priceville dominated the rest of the game, starting with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive in less than three minutes. Burton scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run.
The scoring run was set up by a Wyatt Hurt 47-yard completion to Jaxon Cross.
Following the extra point, the Bulldogs were trailing 28-15 heading into halftime.
Priceville got the ball to start the second half, and it wouldn’t take long to cut into the North Jackson lead. The Bulldogs got a 54-yard touchdown run from Burton that was part of a four-play, 63-yard drive to cut the Chiefs’ lead to 28-22.
Following a Priceville turnover on downs, it looked as though the Chiefs would drive for a score to extend their lead – but the Bulldog defense forced a North Jackson fumble and returned it to the Chiefs 17-yard line to give Priceville excellent field position.
Hurt scored on a one-yard run that was part of a four-play, 17-yard drive. Burton had a 16-yard run that helped set up the scoring run. With the extra point kick, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game, 29-28.
Priceville nailed a two-point conversion to win the game after running back Jerry Burton made it 36-35 with a touchdown run with 13 seconds left.
“I thought it was a great team win,” said Foster. “North Jackson threw a couple of new things at us in the first half, and our team took a while to adjust to it.
“I think our offense scoring right before the half provided a lot of momentum going into the second half,” Foster added. “Having been in a similar situation against Fairview, our team had a collective belief they could make the comeback.
“Our offense and defense came out the second half and did a better job of executing the game plan.”
Stars of the Game
- Burton had 43 carries for 273 yards and four touchdowns with a long of 54 yards.
- Cross finished with nine carries for 76 yards and one reception for 47 yards. He also had an interception.
- Wyatt Hurt completed one pass for 47 yards and had a rushing touchdown.
Priceville (5-2, 4-1) will hit the road for the third consecutive week, traveling to DAR for a region contest.