Blue Devils Sure Up Playoff Birth With Win Over Haralson

The Model Blue Devils went on the road Friday night to take on the Haralson County Rebels in a crucial division matchup. With the Blue Devils still vying for a playoff spot, a win would almost guarantee them one of the four spots from the region.

 

The Rebels would get the ball first and pick up a first down, but the Blue Devil defensive line would hold up and force a punt. The Blue Devils offense wasted no time getting into the end zone, scoring on their first play of the game by way of an 80-yard touchdown pass from Jake Sanders to Amir Pinkard making the score 7-0 and sending a strong message to the Rebels early on.

 

On the third play of the Rebels next drive, the Blue Devils would recover a fumble in Rebels territory. Looking to continue the momentum from their last drive, the Blue Devils would face third down. They would convert the third down, but a fumbled snap would make it 2nd and 25 for the Blue Devils. That didn’t matter though, as the Blue Devils scored on another touchdown pass, this time from 35 yards out, to make the score 13-0 in favor of the Blue Devils.

 

Another great defensive performance by the Blue Devils defensive line would hold the Rebels without a first down yet again, giving the ball back to the Blue Devils at their own 40-yard line. They would run three plays before the Rebels would get their first defensive stop of the night.

 

The Rebels would start their possession to begin the second quarter, trying to get their first successful drive of the night, but they punted the ball away three plays into it, giving the Blue Devils possession yet again. A 55-yard strike from (8) to (2) would be the end result of the drive, extending the Blue Devils lead to 20-0 after the successful PAT.

 

The Rebels strung together their best drive of the game thus far, getting into the red zone with hopes of cutting into the Blue Devils lead. Facing a 4th and goal from the 9-yard line, the Rebels elected to kick a field goal, making the score 20-3 with three minutes remaining before halftime.

 

The Blue Devil offense was determined to build on their lead before the end of the half, stringing together three straight first downs, but came up empty handed before having to punt and Give the Rebels the ball back with 19 seconds before halftime. The Rebels would run one play before the half would end, with the Blue Devils leading 20-3.

 

The Blue Devils came out of halftime rolling, advancing the ball past midfield in just three plays. However, the Rebels were able to slow down the momentum of the Blue Devils and force a punt. The Rebels would march to midfield, using up all 7 minutes that were left in the third quarter. Facing a 4th and 5 situation to begin the fourth quarter, the Rebels had a decision to make. Go for it or punt yet again. They would elect to go for it by way of a fake punt, but the Blue Devils held them short, giving them the ball back. Already up 20-3, the Blue Devils would take four plays to get back into the end zone again, making it 27-3 early in the fourth quarter.

 

With ten minutes remaining, both teams just tried to run the clock out, with nothing but garbage time remaining. However, Blue Devils running back Jermaine Campbell had other plans, sprinting 83 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to put the Blue Devils up 34-3.

 

The Rebels had a chance to score late in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Devils defense held firm and forced a turnover on downs. Two plays later the Blue Devils would run the clock down to 0 and walk away with their 5th win of the season, with the final score being 34-3.