By Devin Smith

On Friday evening a very different Pike County Bulldog football team took the field in Brundidge as opposed to the team from a week before, evident by the Bulldogs 49-13 handling of the Goshen Eagles.

The Bulldog offense that could rarely gain traction against the Charles Henderson Trojans last week seemed nearly flawless against the Eagles, moving the ball seemingly at will.

Head coach Fred Holland was impressed with his team’s performance not only in the game but the days leading up to the showdown with its rivals.

“We learned a lot from the game,” said Holland. “Our preparation was a little better, it gave us an chance to look at some things and make some changes. Overall I’m just proud of our guys and the way that they played.”

Quarterback Jerrell Lawson appeared to be supremely confident in himself on his home field, finishing the game with 12-of-16 completions for 189 yards with a 48-yard touchdown to begin the fourth.

He also had seven rushes for 49 yards and two scores, both coming on back-to-back drives to open the game.

The defense of Pike County was equally impressive against Goshen, smothering them and forcing several turnovers.

“Well I expected for us to play well,” said Holland. “We got better as the week went on, and I think the biggest thing was the experience we gained from last year coming into this year as far as getting ready.”

After falling behind 27-0 at the half the Eagles attempted to get back in the game, but after taking the opening drive of the half down for a score Pike County quickly refocused and ended what hope may have remained for a comeback.

Despite the Bulldog’s dominating performance the Eagles did not help themselves. Multiple penalties and turnovers, several of which were bad snaps, kept Goshen from any avenue to make the game competitive.

“We just need to play with more heart,” said Goshen head coach Bart Snyder. “Tonight we did not play Goshen football.”

Goshen will now turn its attention to the Luverne Tigers at home next week in hopes of redeeming the performance against Pike County.

As for the Bulldogs the next hurdle to face will be the Barbour County Jaguars, who will also being coming off of a lopsided victory.

“It’s a big region game and it’s important that we get some of those things corrected,” said Holland. “It’s a big game for both of us, we’ll work on some different things this week and just try to get better.”