Photo shows the Cullman Middle School marching band at tonight's games.
7th-grade Bearcats top Oak Park 20-0
CULLMAN – Three touchdowns on their first four possessions were enough for the seventh-grade Cullman Bearcats to shut out Oak Park Thursday night at Oliver Woodard Stadium by the final score of 20-0.
The Bearcats are currently 5-0 on the season and have a seven-game winning streak dating back to the final two games of 2015.
Cullman's offense was balanced in the first quarter with 38 passing yards and 29 rushing for 67 total. The Bearcats drove 59 yards following an Oak Park punt and put the ball into the end zone on a 25-yard pass from Hayden Stancil to William Bradberry.
The conversion failed and the Bearcats had a 6-0 lead when time ran out in the first quarter.
Oak Park moved the ball in the second period, but had a drive stopped when Jake Dueland intercepted a pass at the Cullman 20 and return it to the Bearcats' 43.
With 4:13 to go until halftime, the Bearcats tacked on their second score. Stancil hit Bradberry for two passes totaling 30 yards then finished off the series with a 13-yard run around left end with 2:37 showing.
Stancil and Dueland teamed up on the conversion and Cullman led 14-0.
Cullman forced Oak Park to give the ball up on downs on its last possession of the half. The Bearcats took over from their 49, running out the clock to go into intermission with a two-touchdown advantage.
The 'Cats had 67 yards per quarter, 134 yards of total offense through halftime.
Taking the second half kickoff, the 'Cats needed one play to extend the lead to 20-0. Jamar Kay raced 65 yards to the end zone on his first rushing attempt of the contest. The TD came 22 seconds into the third stanza.
For the rest of the night, Cullman stopped Oak Park on downs two times and allowed the Raiders 86 yards of offense in the second half.
Cullman finished with 219 yards of offense, 10 first downs, 141 on the ground. Stancil was five of seven passing for 78 yards and a TD. He rushed for 39 yards on three carries. Andrew Conway gained 23 yards on six attempts with Kay running for his 65-yard TD and catching two passes for 13 yards.
The Bearcats look to keep their undefeated streak alive when they host Arab Tuesday at 5 p.m.
8th-grade Bearcats remain perfect on season
CULLMAN – Cullman's eighth-grade offense exploded for 145 yards in the third quarter to break open a tight encounter with Oak Park, routing the visitors from Decatur 46-6 Thursday evening at Oliver Woodard Stadium.
The Bearcats led 16-0 at halftime, but had a touchdown on an incredible flea-flicker taken off the scoreboard due to a penalty.
Cullman overcame an illegal block in the third quarter that negated a score as well. The Bearcats had the ball three times in the third, with each coming to an end in the Oak Park end zone.
Coach Gerald Turner's eighth-grade squad is 5-0, having posted victories in their last nine games going back to the final month of the 2015 campaign.
The 'Cats dominated the Raiders with 316 total yards, 12 first downs, scoring twice on plays better than 50 yards.
On the second play from scrimmage, a swing pass from Max Dueland to Ethan Echols covered 54 yards and the Bearcats grabbed the lead. Dueland added the 2-point conversion and it was 8-0 with only 22 seconds of the first quarter gone by.
Stopping the Raiders on downs at the Oak Park 39 allowed the Bearcats to score again in the opening period, but they had three penalties for 30 yards that slowed down the momentum briefly.
They regrouped and finished the series with Dueland weaving his way into the end zone from 6 yards out. A pass to Echols was good for the conversion and it was 16-0 at the end of the first.
After getting 97 yards of offense in the first, the 'Cats managed just 41 in the second and had three penalties with one being an illegal receiver downfield that wiped out a 50-yard flea flicker pass from Dueland to Echols.
The Cullman defense was stout as they forced the Raiders to throw an interception, punt and end the first half at their 29, trailing by the score of 16-0. Austin Hurt came up with the pick that gave the 'Cats good field position at the 36, but they were unable to mount a long drive and had to punt.
Forcing the Raiders to lose possession on downs at the start of the third quarter, Cullman drove 49 yards to raise the advantage to 24-0. A penalty backed them inside their 50 with Echols getting the ball and going 59 yards for the touchdown that broke the game for the home team.
Dueland's conversion came with 5:57 to go in the third.
A 52-yard drive the next time Cullman had possession culminated with a 1-yard plunge by Joseph Sheppard after it was set up on a 38-yard run from Jaden Kay. A pass by Dueland to Gabriel Sosa made the score 32-0 at the 4:00 mark of the stanza.
The final series for the 'Cats in the third was a 33-yard drive after the defense forced the Raiders to give the ball up on downs. Brennen Norton did the honors of scoring on a 22-yard run. The conversion failed and it was Cullman with a comfortable 38-0 lead going into the final period of play.
An Oak Park fumble early in the fourth was recovered by Cole Herfuth, giving the 'Cats the ball at the Raiders' 42. Dueland completed this drive with a 22-yard run to round out the scoring for his team. His pass to Sosa was good for the 2-point conversion and a 46-0 cushion with 5:00 remaining.
Cullman started to clear the sidelines, giving everybody a chance to play. Oak Park was able to mount a 65-yard drive and score with 1:40 left on a 4-yard run. The Bearcats tackled the Raiders behind the line on the conversion try, and the final score was 46-6.
Dueland threw for 86 yards and a touchdown and ran for 30 yards and two scores, anchoring the Cullman offense. Echols accounted for 61 yards rushing and a TD to go with his 54-yard touchdown reception.
Sheppard carried the ball nine times and gained 63 yards with one touchdown; Norton had 35 yards on three runs and a touchdown.
The Bearcats yielded 109 yards of offense, forcing two turnovers and keeping Oak Park to 1 of 4 in fourth down conversions.
Now the Bearcats have a few days to prepare for undefeated Arab to visit Woodard Stadium. The game will be Tuesday with kickoff slated around 6:30 p.m.
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