ELIZABETHTOWN – Elizabethtown snapped a 14-14 tie with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns and defeated Bladenboro 30-22 Tuesday night in Bladen Five Middle School football action.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead as Jalyn Newkirk carried into the end zone for the touchdown then ran the 2-point conversion.
The Cougars battled back as Chase Starkloff broke loose around right end and sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Raymond Autry kept the ball and scored the tying 2-point conversion.
Timothy McLean popped free and bolted 72 yards for the second quarter touchdown that put the Cougars ahead 14-8.
Bladenboro rallied and tied the game on a Ricky Brisson touchdown run. The conversion failed and the score remained knotted 14-14.
The Bulldogs had the ball at midfield in the fourth quarter but a holding penalty led to a short punt. The Cougars capitalized as McLean dashed 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Autry crossed the goalline on the conversion run that put Elizabethtown ahead 22-14.
Bladenboro fumbled the ensuing kick-off, and the Cougars converted the mistake into another touchdown. Autry connected with Malcolm Bolden on a 20-yard pass for the touchdown, and Autry called his own number again scoring his third 2-point conversion of the game that stretched the lead to 30-14.
The Bulldogs rallied as Newkirk scored his second touchdown and second 2-point conversion of the game to trim the Cougar lead to 30-22 in the final minute.
The Cougars corralled a bouncing on-side kick-off to preserve the win.
“This was a tough game for us,” said Elizabethtown Coach Rick Whitaker. “They are a big team and that Newkirk is a real good runner. He is hard to stop.”
The Cougars improved to 4-0 with the victory.
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