A back-and-forth rivalry game came down to the final minute on Friday, and the White Hall defense made one last play to wrap up its first win of the season.
The Bulldogs defeated Watson Chapel 32-28 at Wildcat Stadium during Watson Chapel’s homecoming game.
White Hall coach Daryl Patton said he is proud of his players, saying any road win in this conference is a good one.
“It was a good ball game,” Patton said.
“Man, give Chapel credit. They played hard, but our kids played hard, too. We didn’t give up. We had a lot of injuries. We had some moving parts we had to kind of fix during the course of the game. We had some guys having to play some positions they hadn’t practiced a lot at, but they found a way to get it done.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
White Hall (1-6, 1-3 in 5A-Central) took a 25-22 lead with 8:02 remaining on a 22-yard field goal by senior Zane Davis, but the lead didn’t last long.
Watson Chapel (0-7, 0-4) sophomore Jakylinn Battles returned the kickoff 80 yards to give the Wildcats their third lead of the game.
Wildcat coach Steven Heard said that play by Battles was one of many made by Watson Chapel sophomores.
“People don’t realize 60% of my team are 15-year-olds,” Heard said. “They (are) 10th graders. The guys that made the touchdowns tonight were 10th graders. They were 10th graders, besides our quarterback. So, we’re going to get better and better and better. We have a great young core with our ninth graders that’s coming up.”
The Bulldogs responded by marching down the field in nine plays with senior quarterback Wyatt Golden scoring what would be the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 3:35 to play. It was the fifth lead change of the night.
The Wildcats got to the White Hall 27-yard line after Battles caught a deflected pass from quarterback Malachi Rayford on fourth down and 15 for a 25-yard gain.
White Hall’s defense stood firm from there, forcing a tackle for loss and three straight incomplete passes.
The turnover on downs occurred with 52 seconds remaining, allowing White Hall to take a knee.
White Hall rushed for 220 yards, led by Xavier Wallace with 118. Golden added 50 rushing yards and two touchdowns while completing 9 of 14 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs have typically relied on the pass more than they did on Friday.
Golden said he felt good running a tweaked offense, which the Bulldogs had practiced in the past but didn’t fully turn to until Friday night.
“We’re just trying to finally put it in,” Golden said.
“I’m surprised that it worked. I didn’t really believe in it when Coach Patton brought it in, but hey, it came out and worked. Let’s roll.”
Watson Chapel rushed for 175 yards, led by Rayford’s 85 yards and two touchdowns. Nicholas Baker added 42 yards and a touchdown, while Jakaylon Murphy finished with 38 yards.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. Rayford scored two rushing touchdowns for the Wildcats, while White Hall had one each passing and rushing.
The Bulldogs went 2 of 2 on 2-point tries while the Wildcats went 1 of 2, allowing White Hall to lead 16-14.
Neither team scored the rest of the first half after their hot starts.
Each team had a turnover, with Aiden Bitely recovering a Wildcat fumble for White Hall and Dahlon McKinley intercepting a Bulldog pass, keeping the score 16-14 at halftime.
Both teams scored a touchdown in the third quarter, setting up the exciting fourth.
It was the first win of the season for White Hall and extended the Bulldogs’ winning streak against Watson Chapel to eight straight games.
