SAVANNAH - The Long County Blue Tide finally got a number one in the win column when they faced off against the Beach Bulldogs 34-32 on Friday.
It was a late start after lightning delayed the opening kick until 9 p.m. However, it was a quick start for the Tide as they took the opening kickoff to the house. Donovan Antoine fielded the ball at his own 25 and raced 75 yards to the endzone to give the Tide a 6-0 lead 15 seconds into the game.
Beach responded quickly, however, scoring to tie the game 6-6 with 8:58 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs later faced a fourth and 12 from the Tide 41 after Zachaeus Paxton made a big play on third down. The Bulldogs set up a screen found a man over the middle. He went 41 yards untouched for the score as the Bulldogs took a 12-6 lead.
The Tide responded as Jason Scriven’s 9-yard touchdown run with 9:28 before halftime capped the ensuing possession.
After the Tide defense forced a three-and-out, Markyl Allen ignited the next drive, picking up 35 yards to the Bulldogs 34. Three plays later, Zayne Vaughn found Paxton open in the endzone from 21 yards out to make the score 20-12 with four minutes until halftime.
Four minutes was apparently just enough time for the Bulldogs as a passing TD cut the lead to 20-18.
The Bulldogs used their halftime momentum to regain the lead as they picked up yards, despite two holding penalties on their opening drive. The drive culminated with another long touchdown pass and a 24-20 Beach lead.
The Tide went to the ground game once again, looking to regain the lead but also looking to take time off the clock.
Their drive took nearly five minutes off the clock before Paxton scored for the second time of the night from 3 yards out to make the score 26-24 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.
The defense forced a turnover on downs at the Tide 40, giving Long County a chance to extend the lead and shorten the game. Ayden Vaughan eventually found the endzone for the first time this season as he scored from a yard out.
The all important two point conversion was good as Vaughn found the goal line on a designed run to make the score 34-24 with 8:13 left in the game.
A pass interference call on fourth down kept a Beach drive alive, moving the Bulldogs to the Long County 35.
The Bulldogs drove to the 50 and faced a fourth and 10. They went deep but the Tide were called for defensive pass interference, keeping the Bulldogs’ drive alive.
That drive ended with another Beach score and a two-point conversion to the cut the lead to 34-32. But the Bulldogs needed to recover an ensuing onside kick. However, it didn’t go the required 10 yards and the Tide took possession and ran out the clock.
With the win, the Tide move to 1-2 on the year and they will travel to Martin Stadium on September 18 to take on Lowndes, the No. 6-ranked team in Class 7A. The Vikings are 4-0 after a 42-0 drubbing of Blanche Ely (Fla.).