Winterboro’s Taylor Garrett goes low to tackle a Randolph County runner Friday.
Randolph County player No. 37 ran for over 70 yards for a touchdown, putting the first points on the board with 9:43 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers wasted no time getting back into the endzone, scoring on a 50-yard run from No. 27 with 6:50 left in the first.
On the very next drive for the Bulldogs, Randolph County player No. 2 intercepted what would have been a 30-yard pass from Taylor Garrett.
A penalty on the Tigers kept the ball in Winterboro’s hands, a series plagued with bobbled snaps and a dropped pass.
The Tigers capitalized on their next opportunity, with No. 22 running in the touchdown with 3:12 left in the first 12 minutes of play.
Randolph County put the cap on the quarter with a 60-yard touchdown pass from No. 12 to No. 2 with just over a minute left in the first quarter, bringing the score to 28-0.
With 9:37 left in the half, the Tigers’ quarterback No. 12 ran a short touchdown in, after having to convert on 4th down.
Winterboro managed to keep possession long enough to drive over 70 yards down the field, but turned the ball over on downs on a 4th-and-1 situation.
The score going into the half was 35-0 Randolph County.
Winterboro finally got on the board early in the second half, scoring on a 30-yard touchdown run from Cardri Duncan after just two minutes of play.
The Tigers retained possession for most of the rest of the game, with the only other score coming from the Bulldogs on a 50-yard touchdown run from Deshawn Garrett at the end of the third.
Bulldog head coach Dave Nurnberg said even though his team didn’t perform well in the first half, he likes what he’s seen from his players this spring.
“They work hard, their eager to learn,” Nurnberg said. “When you do new stuff, you expect kinks in it. We’re not going to make excuses, we wanted to come out and play, and I think in the second half, they really showed the type of heart that they’ve got and really got back to playing the way we play.”
Nurnberg said he is returning twelve starters from last year’s team and will be sophomore-heavy with young players who got some experience under their belts last season.
“We’ve got a good senior class who’s seen success and who’s going to expect success,” Nurnberg said. “They are going to be the leaders that we’re going to lean on with those younger guys coming up behind them.”
Nurnberg said the only thing his team is focusing on is his team’s effort in the second half.
“We picked ourselves up and really played the football we wanted to play in the second half,” Nurnberg said. “That’s the mental toughness coming in. We’re not focusing on the mistakes we’ve made, but correcting them and not letting them happen again.”
After the game, Nurnberg called his team back onto the field and talked to them about how proud he was of their efforts.
“I told them not to let anyone get them down on the first half,” Nurnberg said. “We know that’s not us. We know that’s not the football we’re going to play in the future, but when you’re making mistakes and playing the way we’re supposed to with heart, that overrides it a little bit.”
