The Lamar Countian, October 8, 2022
The 100th meeting between the Bulldogs and Blue Devils was a classic
The Vernon Bulldogs and Sulligent Blue Devils squared off Friday night in what will go down as another classic in this long-standing Lamar County football rivalry. The Boys in Black and Gold ultimately prevailed 21-20 in a game that came down to the final play, leaving the home half of George Bell Stadium in ecstasy and the visitor’s side in agony.
For those of you who may not be familiar with this rivalry, Vernon and Sulligent are two small towns separated by ten miles of highway and generations worth of contempt for one another. Two small towns filled with hard working people who have had to sweat and scrape and bleed to earn everything they have. Two small towns desperate to prove their best days are not behind them. Two small towns that are similar in so many respects that an outsider might deem them indistinguishable from one another.
Naturally, the two small schools that call these two small towns home are the focal point of this uneasy co-existence. The seeds of rivalry are sown in kindergarten right along with the ABCs, and they are watered and cultivated as students matriculate through their respective schools until it blooms into fully-formed hatred. The two schools, their students and alumni are far more similar than anyone might care to admit, and perhaps that is why their tradition of academic and athletic competition has endured through all these years.
As as was proven again this Friday evening, nowhere is their competition more fierce than on the football field.
Meeting each other for the 100th time, both Vernon and Sulligent entered this year’s contest with much on the line. Having both defeated South Lamar earlier in the season, the winner would be crowned as this year’s County Champion. More importantly, this game held major playoff implications for both Class 2A, Region 5 squads. A win would clinch a postseason berth for Sulligent, while a Vernon victory would keep their hopes alive heading into their game against Winston County in two weeks.
From the opening whistle, the game between these young men played out as a fitting tribute to life in Lamar County: nothing was given, everything had to be earned.
Sulligent received the opening kickoff and put together an 8 play, 68 yard drive capped off by a 15 yard touchdown run by senior Chris Baker. The extra point attempt sailed wide-left, though, and would prove to be a fatal mistake for the Blue Devils.
The Bulldogs then put together a long 15 play drive and made it as deep as the Sulligent 16 yard line, but they turned it over on downs when quarterback Xander Bradford was sacked on an unsuccessful 4th and long.
Vernon’s defense forced Sulligent into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and the Bulldog offense took over on their own 31 yard line following the Blue Devil’s punt. Junior running back Ty Eskridge punched it in from 8 yards out to level the score after a 14 play drive that included two successful fourth down conversions. Bradford’s extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first half.
Sulligent’s AJ Lowe returned the ensuing kickoff to Vernon’s 40 yard line. The Devils capitalized on the great field position and senior quarterback Noah Chism hit receiver Nate Stiles with a 14 yard touchdown strike just before halftime. A pass from Baker to Hunter Wood on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete, and Sulligent would go into the locker room up 12-7.
Following a kickoff out-of-bounds, Vernon started the second half on their own 35 yard line and engineered another long drive into Sulligent’s red zone. A fourth down pass to Tiger McKinney on the goal line was batted down by Tye Weeks, and Sulligent took over on their own 13.
As they had done when in this position in the first half, the Bulldog defense forced another three-and-out and McKinney returned the Sulligent punt across midfield to the 45 yard line. Jordan Godsey had six rushes and two receptions on the drive, capping it off with a touchdown run from the 6 yard line. Bradford’s extra point attempt was once again successful, and the Bulldogs retook the lead 14-12 with 8 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
After an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, Sulligent took over on Vernon’s 49 yard line. Baker punched it in the end zone for his second score following a 28 yard pass from Chism to Wood down to the 2 yard line. The two point conversion attempt failed with Bradford batted down a pass intended for Brooks Bozeman.
Fernando Casas returned the ensuing kickoff to the 39 yard line where the Bulldogs’ offense took over with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Godsey was once again the workhorse, rushing the ball nine times and putting the Bulldogs back ahead with a score from the 1 yard line. Bradford remained perfect on extra point tries, and Vernon led 21-18 with 4:48 remaining in the game.
Sulligent wasn’t going to go down quietly.
Baker returned the kickoff to Sulligent’s own 28 yard line, and Chism had his squad on the Bulldog 21 six plays later. On first and 10 with just over a minute remaining, pressure from Hunter Stripling and Linton Gilmer forced a high throw from Chism that was tipped by Downey and intercepted at the 9 yard line by Casas.
With the aid of a Vernon penalty and timeouts, the Sulligent defense was able to prevent Vernon from picking up a first down and running out the clock. Facing fourth and four from the 16 with the clock stopped at the 45 second mark, Vernon lined up in punt formation. Rather than risk a blocked kick or long return, deep snapper Auburn Kivette intentionally snapped the ball over the punter and out the back of the endzone for a safety.
With the score now 21-20, Bradford boomed the free kick from the 20 yard line past the Blue Devil returners and down to the 5 yard line, where it was scooped up by Baker and returned to the 20. Chism connected with receiver Wesley Ownby for 14 yards and a first down and then spiked the ball to stop the clock. He then completed a pass to Wood across midfield to the Bulldogs’ 47 and again spiked the ball as soon as the chains were set. Chism then hit Wood again on a 19 yard out route that put Sulligent on the Vernon 28 with 10 seconds remaining.
Bobby Austin Westbrook then knocked down a pass intended for Downey on the 5 yard line, setting up one last play to decide the game. Chism’s final pass overshot intended receiver Haigen Gann and was intercepted by McKinney at the 1 yard line, securing the dramatic victory for Vernon.
Two football teams representing two small town schools separated by ten miles of highway and generations of contempt left it all on the field Friday night. They represented their towns and their schools with grit and heart and honor. Once the final whistle was blown, they shook hands and knelt together to pray at midfield. It was a show of mutual respect between fierce rivals and a reminder that all of us, whether we wear Black and Gold or Blue and White, might be a little more alike than we sometimes care to admit.
Finally, the teams returned to their own sidelines to sing their respective school’s alma maters before retiring from the field. The underclassmen will carry this game with them until the two teams meet again next season while the seniors from both teams will carry Friday night’s result with them forever. The rivalry between Vernon and Sulligent will live on for another year. The rivalry between Vernon and Sulligent will live on forever.
Long live the rivalry.
click to view over 150 photos of the game taken by Jeff Hankins
click to watch video highlights of the game from WCBI-TV’s “EndZone” program