HIGDON, Ala. – It was a cold night at Loyd Dobbins Field in Higdon, Alabama as Addison traveled to play the North Sand Mountain Bison in the second round of the class 2A state playoffs. The Bison came away with a hard fought, 32-24 win, pushing them on to the third round of the state playoffs and ending Addison’s season.
North Sand Mountain took the opening kickoff and drove 65-yards in seven plays to get on the board first. A 1-yard touchdown plunge put the Bison up 6-0 at the 9:22 mark of the first quarter. The extra point was no good.
After an exchange of punts, North Sand Mountain took over and immediately drove 79 yards in 12 plays, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good and the Bison led 12-0 in the first quarter.
It looked bleak for the Dawgs as the Bison controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage. Addison took over on its own 36-yard line and started running the ball down the heart of the defense. Weston “Big Game” Smith accounted for more than 40-yards on the drive. The drive ended with Addison’s first field goal of the year, an Eli “Curly” Howse 32-yarder to cut the Bison lead to 12-3 with only 2:30 left in the first half.
The “Dawg Pound Defense” held on the next possession and the Dawgs got the ball back at North Sand Mountain’s 42-yard line with only 50 seconds on the clock. Christian “Ice Man” Roberts led the Dawgs down the field hitting Nelson “Tank” Martin and “Touchdown” Tommy Lee Daniel for pass completions. Roberts then ran it in from the 5-yard line for the Dawgs’ first touchdown. The Howse extra point ended the first half with the Bison leading 12-10.
Disaster struck when an Addison fumble on the second play of the second half gave the Bison the ball at the Dawgs’ 38-yard line. Three plays later, a beautiful 24-yard touchdown pass put the Bison up 20-10 after the two-point conversion was successful.
The never say die Dawgs responded with a score of their own. The Martin 1-yard touchdown run was assisted by an accurate back shoulder throw from Roberts to Daniel for 39-yards. The Howse extra point pulled the Dawgs to within 20-17 with 6:17 left in the third quarter.
The Dawg defense stifled the Bison on their next possession and took over the ball with the momentum at the 2:49 mark of the third quarter.
Addison then drove 88-yards on 13 plays, all runs, to take the lead on another Martin 2-yard touchdown run. Roberts and Martin accounted for 73 of the yards. At the 9:53 mark of the fourth quarter Addison had finally pulled ahead of the Bison 24-20.
North Sand Mountain was not going to be denied on this night, taking the ball and going 69-yards on eight plays to take a slim 26-24 lead after scoring on a 1-yard run.
Addison’s next possession ended on a failed fourth-down conversion and the Bison took over at Addison’s 27-yard line.
It took only one play for the Bison to seal the win with their running back on the first play of the drive scampering in, untouched, for a 27-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good and North Sand Mountain led 32-24 with only 3:39 left in the game.
The game ended with another Addison turnover, and so did the Dawgs’ season. North Sand Mountain defeated Addison 32-24 and now moves on to the third round of the state playoffs to play Spring Garden next Friday night.
The unofficial stats are: Dawgs ran the ball 41 times for 221 yards. Addison had 13 pass plays for a total of 71 yards. Addison ran 54 plays 292 total yards. The Bison ran the ball 44 times for 301 total yards. They had 19 pass plays for 121 total yards. The Bison had 63 total plays for 423 total yards.
Roberts completed five of his 13 pass attempts for 71 yards with an interception.
Roberts had 14 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown, Smith had 15 carries for 79 yards and Martin had 10 carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns.
Daniel had three grabs for 55 yards, Martin and Xavier “Mr. Smooth” Barley each had a catch.
The defense was led by Quentin “Fabio” Barley with eight tackles, Nelson “The Hammer” Hernandez had seven tackles and Justin “Rocky” Mather, “Smooth” Barley, Martin and Ross “Mini Fridge” Steele each had five tackles.
Howse made the 32-yard field goal, made all his extra points and kicked and punted wonderfully on the evening.
All in all, it was a successful season for the 2020 Addison Bulldogs. They finished second in their region, made it to the second round of the state playoffs and had a winning record against an incredibly challenging schedule. Maybe with a little more luck the Dawgs can build on this season and produce even more fun and exciting Friday nights for the folks of Addison next fall.
Thank you, players and coaches for a great year.
Roll Addi Roll
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