Manifest destiny
- Updated: August 20, 2022
Anniston’s Lewis predicted a kickoff return for a touchdown, the Bulldogs got two, including Lewis’ to open their 52-18 rout of Wellborn
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Jayden Lewis had been telling his Anniston teammates all week somebody was going to return a kickoff for a touchdown in their season opener Friday night. They were too good and too fast in practice for it not to happen.
WELLBORN 18
It didn’t matter who would get it. Somebody in the group of speedy returners was going to bring one back.
Lewis didn’t have to wait long for his prediction to be right on the Jay-Money.
He took the opening kickoff and raced 92 yards through a gaping hole to open the season in the most exciting way imaginable. It sent a wave of momentum through the entire Anniston huddle that never really dissipated and they rode it to a 52-18 win over Wellborn.
“We manifested it,” Lewis said. “I was telling the guys, everybody who’s back there with me, there’s straight speed back there. I was like, look, man, if we can return one, let’s do it. Let’s open the season up with a kick return. No matter who it goes to, we’re going to block our butts off and we’re going to get it. That was the thought going into today.”
Talk about an explosive start to the season. The Bulldogs scored 21 points after touching the ball six times and the teams combined for four touchdowns before the season was three minutes old.
“That’s what we work on,” Bulldogs coach Rico White said. “One thing I said, I looked over the past years, we always started slow and this year we’re very explosive. I’m proud of my guys. They came out and set the tone and did well.”
Wellborn coach Jeff Smith didn’t blink. It brought back memories of his freshman year on The Hill in 1983 when the Panthers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown on Anniston, but the Bulldogs recovered and went on to win 25-7.
He was optimistic about that happening in reverse and it looked for a moment like it might. The Panthers answered Lewis’ electric return with Ahmad Noel breaking off a 70-yard touchdown burst on their second snap of the season. The PAT wound up being a broken play with Lewis intercepting what the Panthers tried to salvage.
Before anyone could catch their breath, Anniston quarterback Kam Sandlin broke off a 42-yard TD run and Javon Thomas went 40 yards for a score. That quickly it was 21-6 with 9:01 in the first quarter.
“I knew it was coming,” Sandlin said. “We’ve been practicing hard for it.”
Smith knew the only way the Panthers could stay in the game with the Bulldogs is by controlling the clock. Things finally started slowing down when Wellborn returned its traditional ball-control offense, running the next nine minutes off the clock to score a touchdown with 8.2 seconds left in the first quarter.
But that didn’t slow down the Bulldogs. They scored 39 points in the first half running only 16 offensive plays. They scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns and scored their first touchdown of the second half on an interception return.
Malachi Taylor was one of the smallest guys on the field, but he turned out to be the Bulldogs’ biggest producer. The 5-foot-9 junior rushed for 227 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns, one on a 57-yard kickoff return late in the first half when the Panthers tried to kick short after their nine-minute drive and an 8-yard touchdown run with three minutes to play.
“I just ran,” he said. “I want to thank Coach White for believing in me, letting me get as many carries as I did. I like how my O-line takes it personal when I get touch. The whole coaching staff put a lot of faith in me in practice.”
“Taylor is going to be our workhorse,” White said. “We know we can count on him. He did a great job and we’re proud of him. Being a small, crafty guy I don’t know if he can take a beating, but when we have an explosive game like we had tonight, it’s OK. We have some more backs, but he was really having a good game. We don’t want to break his groove, so we fed him all night.”
How confident was the Bulldogs’ offense? Enough to pull off a fake punt from the back of the end zone that was as big a play in the game as any of their scoring bursts and led to another touchdown.
They had to punt from their 1 in a 27-12 game with about two and a half minutes left in the half. Sandlin lined up about two yards inside the back of the end zone. He took the snap and took off, escaping the end zone and picking up 17 yards to move the chains.
Taylor ripped off a 48-yard gain on the next play and on the next snap Jamarius Billingsley went 34 yards for his second touchdown to make it 33-12 with 1:16 left in the half
“It was risky,” White agreed, “but I wanted to get out of there.”
Anniston 52, Wellborn 18
| ANNISTON (52) | WELLBORN (18) | |
| 11 | 1st Downs | 17 |
| 21-387 | Rushes-Yards | 57-266 |
| 1-8-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 3-8-1 |
| 5 | Passing Yards | 53 |
| 1-1 | Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 |
| 1-29.0 | Punts-Avg. | 2-28.5 |
| 14-117 | Penalties-Yds | 3-25 |
| Anniston (1-0) | 21 | 18 | 6 | 7 — | 52 |
| Wellborn (0-1) | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 — | 18 |
A: Jayden Lewis 92 kickoff return (Kamron Sandlin kick), 11:46 1Q
W: Ahmed Noel 70 run (pass failed), 10:51 1Q
A: Kamron Sandlin 42 run (Kamron Sandlin kick), 10:05 1Q
A: Javon Thomas 40 run (Kamron Sandlin kick), 9:01 1Q
W: Grayson Johnson 10 run (run failed), 0:08 1Q
A: Jamarius Billingsley 18 run (run failed), 10:19 2Q
A: Jamarius Billingsley 34 run (kick failed), 1:16 2Q
W: Xavier Parker 2 run (run failed), 0:27 2Q
A: Malachi Taylor 57 kickoff return (run failed), 0:14 2Q
A: D.J. Pope 57 interception return (kick failed), 8:41 3Q
A: Malachi Taylor 8 run (Eduardo Lopez kick), 3:05 4Q
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