SHEFFIELD – It was tough sledding for the Cold Springs Eagles Friday night. The Eagles’ offense sputtered at times and it was the opening the Sheffield Bulldogs needed as they eliminated the Eagles from the 2016 2A state playoffs by a score of 27-13.
Sheffield won the toss and deferred to the second half, but the Eagles were unable to move the ball, with their only yards on the drive coming via an offside penalty on Sheffield, forcing the Eagles to punt. Unfortunately for Cold Springs, the punt was shanked, giving Sheffield great field position at the Cold Springs 39. In just two plays, the Bulldogs were in the end zone, thanks to a 21-yard blast around the left end by junior running back Cedrick Carrol, Jr. for the score. The Bulldogs booted through the PAT and took a 7-0 lead, a lead that they would never relinquish.
Following a second straight three and out from Cold Springs, Sheffield put together an 11-play drive that went 72 yards and ended with a quarterback keeper by Malik Smith for 5 yards and the score. The PAT was wide right and the score stood at 13-0 in favor of Sheffield.
The ensuing kickoff was dropped by Cold Springs and recovered at their own 1, putting their backs against the wall. Nic Rollo quickly got the Eagles some breathing room with a 9-yard run. He followed up with two more carries for a total of 5 yards, before breaking loose for 12 yards on third-and-1. Rollo, along with Fisher Willoughby, continued to lead the Eagles down the field and into Bulldog territory as time expired in the first quarter.
Cold Springs picked up in the second where they left off in the first, running the ball. Aided by a chop block, Cold Springs took the football 99 yards on a staggering 22 plays, ending in a Clay Jones 2-yard touchdown run. The Eagles converted the PAT to pull to within six, 13-7, with 5:40 left before half.
After Cold Springs had held the ball for more than 12 minutes, Sheffield answered in a hurry. Smith hooked up with Donavan Goodwin on a slant route for 64 yards to set up a 9-yard strike to the 6’5” Emmanuel Ford in the front of the end zone for the score. The Bulldogs added the PAT to take a 20-7 lead to the half.
The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half but could not move the ball and were forced to punt the ball to the Eagles. Starting from their own 15, Cold Springs put together an impressive drive, down to the Sheffield 26, but the drive stalled and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.
Sheffield took over on their 27 and moved down the field in chunks, capping the drive with a 22-yard connection from Smith to Ford for the score. The PAT was good with Sheffield pulling ahead 27-7 at the end of the third.
Cold Springs added a second touchdown in the fourth, a 4-yard rush by Jones, but it was not enough as the Eagles’ season came to a close by a final score of 27-14.
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