CULLMAN – Cullman’s Jayden Sullins’ number was called quite a bit Friday night, and the sophomore did not disappoint, scoring on the team’s first drive to give the Bearcats the lead and again on his last run of the game to extend the shutout to 24-0 on senior night.
The Bearcats stayed aggressive, scoring on their first three possessions.
Cullman, stuck way behind the line of scrimmage on a third-and-24 deep inside Bearcat territory, did not shy away as Jennings shot up the center, dodging several would be tacklers to keep the drive alive, pushing Cullman into the Patriots’ side of the field.
In the following set of downs, the Bearcats’ Sullins was stopped short of the first down marker on a third-and-3, setting up a long field goal attempt for the Bearcats. Cullman’s Isaac Rodriguez calmly walked out and nailed a 49-yarder to give Cullman a 10-0 lead halfway through the second quarter.
After forcing Brewer to punt for the fourth consecutive possession the Bearcats began their drive at the Patriots’ 41-yard line. Jennings passed to Hayden Henderson, who broke a couple tackles before taking it down inside the 5-yard line of Brewer, setting up a first-and-goal. A late horse collar call moved the Bearcats up to the Brewer 3-yard line. A false start on Cullman backed them up for a longer second-and-goal attempt from the Brewer 8-yard line. Yet another penalty on Cullman had the Bearcats attempting a second-and-goal from Brewer’s 13-yard line. Jennings hit Henderson for the 13-yard touchdown reception and with a good PAT, the Bearcats walked away with 17-0 lead.
Brewer muffed the kickoff to begin the second half within its 5-yard line. The Patriots fought hard to gain a first down, but the Bearcats forced yet another punt. However, a running into the kicker penalty gave Brewer an extra 5 yards, but still a short punt, setting the Bearcats up at the Patriots’ 45-yard line.
Jennings connected with Dylan McSwain and Henderson to push the Bearcats down the field. An incomplete pass set up Miguel Tizapa for a 42-yard field goal attempt, but the kick was wide right, keeping the score at 17-0.
On the Bearcats’ next possession, Cullman started from its 5-yard line until Sullins broke free for an 18-yard first-down run. Sullins continued to push the Bearcats, as he gained three consecutive fresh set of downs to keep the ball moving downhill, but eventually Cullman’s Jennings was forced to punt.
Brewer’s Patrick Johnson caught a huge third-and-32 pass to give the Patriots a first down at Brewer’s 41-yard line, following multiple penalties on the team. The Bearcats stood tall forcing Brewer into a short fourth-down attempt, and a fake punt by Brewer handed the ball back to Cullman at the Patriots’ 41-yard line.
Cullman could not move the ball far down the field before being forced to punt back to Brewer. The Patriots were then forced to punt, but the Bearcats’ Seth Gable blocked it. Sullins ended the game the same way he began as he took the short-down run in for a touchdown to extend the lead to 24-0.
On a fourth-and-6, Brewer quarterback Zackery Self hurled the ball cross-field to Zackary Koda for the first down. The big first down came with a personal foul penalty, backing Brewer back to Cullman’s 40-yard line. The Bearcats’ David Miller made a huge sack to force a fourth-and-20 with just more than two minutes left in the game. Cullman’s Jaron Potter knocked down Self’s next pass to secure Cullman’s first shutout of the season; the Bearcats downed Brewer 24-0 on senior night.
Cullman improves to 6-3 overall and will travel to Chelsea for the last game of the regular season next week.
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