WINTERBORO – The Winterboro Bulldogs closed out their season with a 20-6 victory over the Vincent Yellow Jackets on Thursday.

Strong running from Curtavius Gray and Cardri Duncan gave Winterboro the edge despite the Bulldogs having a couple of turnovers in the end zone.

Winterboro got on the board on the first play of the second quarter with a 10-yard run by Duncan. The touchdown capped an 82-yard drive that lasted nearly five minutes.

Duncan found the end zone again late in the second period, this time on a 22-yard scamper. Gray ran the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion to give Winterboro the advantage, 14-0 with 1:58 remaining until intermission.

The Bulldogs scored again in the fourth period on a 50-yard run by Gray. The two-point conversion failed, but Winterboro held the lead 20-0 with 9:28 to go in the game.

Vincent scored their only points of the night on a 7-yard pass into the end zone from Damauntey Johnson to Chris Brown with 7:30 remaining. The two-point conversion was no good and Winterboro held a 20-6 lead.

The Bulldogs defense held Vincent to 160 yards of offense. Johnson threw for 124 yards. Ryan Kelow had 62 yards on two catches. ShaCorry Lilly rushed for 47 yards on 12 carries.

Winterboro accumulated 346 yards of total offense. Gray led the Bulldogs in rushing with 191 yards on 21 carries. Duncan added 144 yards on 18 carries.

The victory was a bittersweet one for the Bulldogs. When they started the season the Bulldogs had hopes of competing of the 1A title. Three losses in region play left Winterboro on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. For the nine seniors on the Winterboro squad, Friday night’s win just made them realize their high school football days had come to an end.

“My new teammates, this group is just so close,” Colby Maddox said. “I don’t want to leave them and the coaches too.”

After the game ended and the two teams shook hands, met and prayed together at midfield, the Bulldogs made their way over to the home team’s sideline and stood as the band played Winterboro’s alma mater.

“Today, it has to be today,” Maddox said when asked his most memorable moment of the season. “The alma mater before the left, that’s when it hit me that it’s all over.”

Marcus Jones said he’d leave Winterboro with a lot of great memories from his time on the football team.

“We had a great season,” he said. “We really thought we had a chance to win it all in 1A.”

Maurice Mills felt much the same as Jones, saying, “I love them all” in reference to his teammates.

Luransa Hardy said he was a little sad entering Thursday’s game, knowing it would be his last football game in a Winterboro jersey.

“I knew it was going to end,” he said.

Winterboro finishes the season with a record of 7-3. Vincent falls to 5-5 on the season.

Contact Heather Baggett at hbaggett@dailyhome.com