No repeat Friday

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: October 22, 2016

The Wadley Bulldogs remember what happened the last time they came to Donoho, were determined not to have it happen again

Tyrese Sheppard (2) and Connor Fordham are a strong combination in the backfield. They accounted for five of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns Friday night. (All photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today

The last region loss the Wadley Bulldogs had was on Oct. 10, 2014. It was last time they came to Donoho. It’s a game that’s etched into the very fabric of their uniforms.

“We remember that game,” Wadley coach Ken Fordham said. “It was a mud bowl. We had not forgotten.”

Donoho won that night by two touchdowns, but the sixth-ranked Bulldogs were not going to let that happen again Friday night. They rolled to a 61-16 victory, in a score that read the same regardless of the angle you looked at it.

It was the Bulldogs’ 14th straight region win, 12th straight regular-season win and kept them undefeated in 2016 (8-0, 6-0) as they clinched their second straight region title.

“It is always good to win a region championship,” Fordham said. “It is the culmination of four years of hard work.”

The Bulldogs have only three seniors on the roster and are going to be hard to handle over the next couple of years.

“We have a good junior high group coming up and we prepare hard each week for each opponent,” Fordham continued. “We cannot let up. If we do we will get beat.”

Wadley jumped out to a 20-8 first quarter lead showing the great balance it has on offense. Tyrese Sheppard scored on a 36-yard run, Quay Drake scored on a 74-yard pass from Connor Fordham and Jamichael Angel dove in from the 1. Donoho’s Garrett Steed raced 65 yards for a score as the Falcons fought to keep it close.

The roof caved in on the Falcons in the second quarter. Quarterback Fordham hooked up with Cordarious Nunn on a touchdown pass, then showed some defense as well, picking off a Steed pass and returned it 16 yards for a score. Sheppard added a 35-yard run to give Wadley a 40-8 halftime lead.

Sheppard had 131 yards on five carries as the Bulldogs piled up 342 yards of total offense in the first half. Donoho was able to move the ball in spurts, gaining 202 yards of offense in the first half.

The Falcons got a late score on 66-yard pass play from Steed to Buddy Ray.

Steed rushed for 101 yards on 19 carries for Donoho, but was tackled for losses 7 times by the hard-hitting Bulldog defense.

“How we hit is the mark of our defense,” Fordham said. ”Our defensive coaches do a great job.”
The Bulldogs are now 22-8 all-time against Donoho and have won 11 of 12 games since 1999.

Fordham had some words of encouragement for the Donoho football team after the game.

“You guys played hard and you guys got a lot of younger players,” he told them. “We were there two years ago, so don’t hang your heads. Just keep working and get better. You guys are going to be a good football team.”

Donoho (2-7, 1-5) will host Woodland next week, while Wadley travels to Horseshoe Bend in its final game before the playoffs.

”We had a sloppy first half, but our team is where we need to be,” Fordham said. “It is not over yet by a long shot. We have to keep preparing and be ready for a lot of good things.”

Garrett Steed had a long touchdown run and a long touchdown pass for Donoho Friday night.

Wadley 61, Donoho 16
Wadley 20 20 14 7 — 61
Donoho 8 0 0 8 — 16

W — Tyrese Sheppard 36 run (Jamichael Angel run), 10:02 1Q
D — Garrett Steed 65 run (Mitchell Baker pass from Garrett Steed), 8:41 1Q
W — Jamichael Angel 1 run (kick failed), 6:35 1Q
W — Quay Drake 74 pass from Connor Fordham (pass failed), 1:57 1Q
W — Courdarious Nunn 17 pass from Connor Fordham (pass failed), 5:29 2Q
W — Connor Fordham 16 interception return (Elijah Beverly Kick), 4:36 2Q
W — Tyrese Sheppard 35 run (Elijah Beverly kick), 1:17 2Q
W — Courdarous Nunn 3 run (Elijah Beverly kick), 4:31 3Q
W — Caden Messer 5 run (Elijah Beverly kick), 0:54 3Q
W — Ryan Fulghum 45 run (Elijah Beverly kick), 5:00 4Q
D — Buddy Ray 66 pass from Garrett Steed (Buddy Ray pass from Garrett Steed), 3:02 4Q

Team stats Wad Don
First Downs 22 7
Rushing Yds 362 102
Passing 6-11-1 8-24-2
Passing Yds 113 104
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalty yds 25 48