Second half rally propels Hampton past Polk County
Published 10:07 am Monday, November 6, 2023
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Polk County was facing a fourth and 20 with under a minute left in the first half and the Bulldogs Dylan Trivett (18) leaps in front of Damian McWilliams (12) to make a game changing interception. Hampton would go into the half down 14-19 but the tide had turned.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Dominique Burleson (12)drives the pile as he scores the first of his two third-quarter touchdowns.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Dominique Burleson (12) scores the second of two third-quarter touchdowns, from nine yards out, late in the quarter. Burleson accounted for all 16 points in the third and put the Bulldogs on his back and carried the team to victory.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Dylan Trivett (18) drags Polk County’s Dakoda Whaley (11), who has a fist full of jersey, for extra yardage early in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Bulldog running back Dominique Burleson (12) gets around the edge and scampers for first down yardage early in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders With the Wildcats Matthew Maxwell (14) all over him, Hampton’s JJ McElyea (3) stretches out for a couple of extra yardage and a first down on a pass play over the middle late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders On first and goal from the nine, Bulldog quarterback Dylan Trivett (18) pulls back the handoff to Dominique Burleson (12) and runs right with Geno Carrico (5) leading the way for Hampton’s first touchdown of the night late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders On the ensuing kickoff after Hampton scored JJ McElyea (3) gets a fist full of Damian McWilliams (12) jersey and drags him to the ground after a short return.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Like the proverbial Bull(dog) in the china shop Hampton’s ground game against the Wildcats of Polk County Dominique Burleson (12) put his team on his back and was a nearly one man wrecking crew all night long. Here he breaks through the coverage on a kickoff return for 40 yards early in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldog Pound, led by Geno Carrico (5) and Shayden Oliver (64), stuff Polk County’s TJ Hawking (44) (somewhere in the pile) at the line of scrimmage for little to no gain on one of the final plays for the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders On a fourth and long early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs Dominique Burleson (12), with a friendly shove from Greg Tolley (65), pounds forward for 16 yards and a first down early in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders I’ll meet ya at the ball carrier. That seemed to be the plan all night as the Bulldogs harassed Polk County in their own backfield all night long. Here JJ Cable (44), Elijah McKinney (16) and Maddux Wilson (13) swarm Polk County’s Matthew Maxwell (14) on an end around attempt late in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Hampton’s Maddux Wilson (13) and Dylan Trivett (18) collide with the Wildcats Johnny Martin (23), tackling him after a short run late in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldog faithful were loud and proud on Camouflage Night during week one’s TSSAA Region 1 2A game with the Wildcats of Polk County.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Dominique Burleson (12) meets his counterpart Damian McWilliams (12) on the edge shutting down a sweep for minimal yardage late in the second quarter.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
For the second straight week, the Hampton Bulldogs trailed at the half. And for the second straight week, the Bulldogs rallied to victory. On Friday night at JC Campbell Stadium, the ‘Dogs rode the legs of junior RB Dominique Burleson to a 36-19 win over Polk County in the opening round of the TSSAA playoffs.
Burleson rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns in the win for Hampton (9-2 overall).
J.J. McElyea recovered a fumble early in the second half, which led to a Hampton touchdown that enabled the Bulldogs to take control of the contest.
“We weren’t thinking of an on-side kick, but we wanted to kick away from (McWilliams) because he is a heck of a football player,” Bulldogs head coach Michael Lunsford said. “We kind of missed the kick and squibbed it and JJ came up with the ball.”
First quarter proves an even match
Polk County struck first when Damien McWilliams returned a Hampton punt 49 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. The ‘Dogs regrouped and went on a seven-play, 77-yard scoring drive capped off by a nine-yard run from senior QB Dylan Trivett. Burleson scored the two-point conversion to give the ‘Dogs an 8-7 lead.
Second quarter sees Wildcats gain momentum
McWilliams capped off a 65-yard drive for Polk County with a 20-yard touchdown scamper that gave Polk a 13-8 lead when the two-point pass failed. Hampton struck right back with Burleson scoring from two yards out to cap off a 54-yard drive to make it a 14-13 contest.
The Wildcats (4-7 overall) came right back with a strong run attack led by fullback T.J. Hawkins who bolted 35 yards to a touchdown that staked Polk to a 19-14 halftime advantage.
McElyea recovers first fumble
Hampton opened the second half with a 12-play, 77-yard drive capped off by a one-yard Burleson plunge to give the Bulldogs a 22-19 lead. The ‘Dogs got a break when McWilliams took the ball from Burleson and raced 63 yards to an apparent touchdown that was called back on a defensive penalty for a facemask violation.
On the ensuing kickoff, McElyea raced to the loose ball and recovered on the 46-yard line.
“When I saw the ball on the ground my only thought was to get on the ball,” McElyea said. “If the ball is loose, I am doing my best to get to it. This was a huge win for us and when we were losing at halftime it turned my stomach.”
Burleson cashed in the turnover with a six-yard scoring run to stake the ‘Dogs to a 30-19 lead as Hampton was now in control of the contest. Polk now abandoned the run game but QB Cade Brewer could not find his receivers finishing six-for-14 passing for 56 yards.
Fourth quarter sees Hampton finish the job
Trivett scored his second touchdown of the game to cap off a 71-yard drive with a one-yard run to make it a 36-19 game. McElyea recovered his second fumble as Hawkins put the ball on the ground on the Wildcats next possession and Hampton was able to hold off Polk County the rest of the way.
“What I told the guys at halftime was in the playoffs, we have to find a way to improve every week,” Lunsford said. “We have been in the playoffs many times here and the thing all those teams have in common is that we improved every week.”
The Bulldogs return next week for a clash with Bledsoe County, who took a 42-21 win over South Greene.
Hampton 36-19
Polk Co 7 12 0 0 – 19
Hampton 8 6 16 6 – 36
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
P – McWilliams 49 punt return (Brock kick) 6:33
H – Trivett 9 run (Burleson run) 3:30
Second Quarter
P – McWilliams 20 run (pass failed) 10:44
H – Burleson 2 run (run failed) 7:19
P – Hawkins 35 run (run failed) 3:42
Third Quarter
H – Burleson 1 run (Burleson run) 6:04
H – Burleson 6 run (Burleson run) :51
Fourth Quarter
H – Trivett 1 run (pass failed) 8:30
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
P – Hawkins 8-78, McWilliams 8-55, Holden 6-7, Lawson 2-6. H – Burleson 29-214, Trivett 9- 38, Carrico 3-14, Townsend 2-13.
PASSING
P – Brewer 6-14, 56 yds. 0 TD, 0 int. H – Trivett 5-8, 100 yds. 0 TD, 0 int.
RECEIVING
P – Adams 3-19, McWilliams 1-10, Holden 1-13, Lanning 1-14. H – McKinney 2-42, McElyea 1- 27, Carrico 1-31
