The Winder-Barrow football team made an early statement in its game against Habersham Central last Saturday. In fact, after just 4 minutes and 10 seconds, the Bulldoggs (4-2, 2-0 Region 8-5A) had jumped out to a 15-0 lead.
But the Habersham offense was ready to tango, too. The Raiders put up over 40 points for the second consecutive game and found themselves trailing by just 6 points in the 3rd quarter. Ultimately, though, a potent Winder rushing attack proved too much as the Bulldoggs outlasted HCHS for a 57-43 victory.
Gaudy offensive numbers are an encouraging sign for the Raiders. But Coach Benji Harrison knows there’s plenty to shore up.
“If you take away our turnovers, it’s about as good of a day as you can ask for. We moved the ball well and controlled the clock,” Harrison said. “I’m proud of how we executed, but we have got to take care of the football. Felt like we had gotten that fixed after week 2, but it reared its ugly head again.”
Harrison added, “Why that is, I don’t know. It was a unique week ... we only got 2 practices in. So you can come up with a lot of theories or excuses, but the bottom line is that we didn’t hold onto the football.”
The Habersham defense had absolutely no answer for Winder running back Demetrius Dowdy on Saturday. The Bulldoggs gave the ball to Dowdy 28 times in the contest and he certainly did his part, picking up 332 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns.
Winder quarterback Camden Hodge completed just 6 passes in the game, but 2 of them were for TDs. Hodge finished 6-for-10 with 124 yards.
“Defensively, we didn’t play well,” said Harrison. “We had trouble getting lined up correctly, we didn’t tackle real well, and just gave up way too many explosive plays.”
The Raiders found their offensive success through the air. Junior QB Paris Wilbanks went 31-for-42 for 466 yards and 3 scores.
It was senior receiver Zeke Whittington - no surprise - who caught 13 of those. Whittington racked up 196 receiving yards and finished with a pair of touchdown catches.
Sophomore receiver Jay Feltus was another popular target for Wilbanks Saturday, snagging 6 balls for 128 yards. Wilbanks and Feltus connected for an explosive 64-yard play early in the second half that pulled the Raiders within 6 points of the lead.
Habersham was relatively good on the ground also. Junior tailback Donnie Warren picked up 127 yards and a touchdown. Senior Antonio Cantrell bulldozed his way into the endzone twice in the second half to keep his team in the ball game.
The young HCHS O-line showed its inexperience Saturday. Harrison says that will most certainly be a point of emphasis during practices this week.
"We gave up 5 sacks which was a big negative. That's way too many," he said. "We have to make sure we get better protection."
In the end, though, it was Winder’s early lead - plus the Bulldogg’s ability to keep countering late in the game - that allowed them to hang on for the win.
With the loss, the Raiders fell to .500 in region play. Habersham welcomes Clarke Central (4-2, 2-0 Region 8-5A) to Mount Airy on Friday.