Dawg pound
- Updated: September 6, 2024
Pope shines as Anniston erupts for 555 total yards, opens region play with 62-8 rout of visiting Ashville.
By East Alabama Sports Today
ANNISTON — Anniston opened Class 4A, Region 6 play in style Friday.
The Bulldogs rolled up 555 yards of total offense rolled past Ashville 62-8 at Lott-Mosby Stadium.
They mounted explosive plays on offense, and special teams and defense caught the bug in the second half.
Ashville scored on quarterback John Potter’s 23- yard run to tie the game at 8-8 midway through the first quarter. The snap flew over over his head and rolled back to the 40-yard line. He picked it up, reversed field and scored.
That was Ashville’s highlight. Anniston held Bulldogs to minus 77 yards rushing the rest of the night.
Anniston quarterback Damon Pope went 8-for-10 for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed once for had 60 yards and a touchdown as Anniston rebounded from last week’s 8-6 loss to Beauregard.
“We had a bad game last week, and we worked hard during the week to fix those issues,” Pope said. “I love my offensive line as they did a great job of protecting me. I was not sacked any tonight. I loved the way the defense sprinted to the ball tonight as they were just great.”
Pope threw touchdown passes of 41 yards to Kaleb Moore, 41 yards to Quintavious Cunningham and 16 yards to Khyree Patrick. Patrick added a second touchdown on a 56-yard run, and Cunningham added a 55-yard run for his second touchdown.
“Pope made a perfect pass to me, and all I had to do was run it into the end zone, and the line blocked great for me on the touchdown run,” Cunningham said.
Defender Isaac Mikle added two touchdowns, returning an interception 24 yards and a punt 54 yards.
The game was played on the new artificial turf in the refurbished stadium that featured new visiting stands and an improved press box.
“It is just a beautiful field, and we are so glad to have it,” Anniston coach Rico Jackson said. “It was such a defensive struggle last week, and our defense played great. They played great tonight also, and the offense was playing well, so it was a good night,.”
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