The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs locked in a playoff berth with a 46-22 victory over the Normangee Panthers on Friday.
It was a crucial bounceback win for the Bulldogs’ homecoming match, as they dominated early with high intensity from the players and coaching staff on the opening defensive stop.
“We needed to come out fast and play with confidence. I think we have been putting a little stress on ourselves,” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “Certain groups have to play more relaxed. These guys were excited, and I was proud of their effort.”
Corrigan’s zone rushing operated at full steam, with Bulldog sophomore fullback Nemo Marshall stepping in to help share the heavy load for starting sophomore running back Derrick Reagie.
“[Instead of] having them key in on Derrick, I wanted to change the pace up with some different personnel packages at times. Nemo is a good, hard runner that gave us a different dimension and it wore on their defense,” Ratliff said.
Panther sophomore quarterback Marshall Harris was limited in the run game, but did test the Bulldog secondary to keep Normangee in the game with multiple passing touchdowns.
“Normangee was able to get in trips and put us in a bind a little bit, but our pass rush did a good job in keeping Harris at bay,” Ratliff said. “He is typically a really good runner, so it forced him to throw, but we made the defensive plays when it mattered.”
Corrigan’s defense came out strong with two quick stops on the Panthers. Later, the Bulldogs would move the sticks midway through the first quarter with huge runs by Reagie and junior tailback Mason Murphy.
Marshall got Corrigan inside the five-yard line, then punched it in for the first Bulldog touchdown of the night.
Bulldog junior linebacker Tahj Thomas caught a big interception to start the second quarter, which helped set up Marshall on another big gainer to get inside the 10-yard line.
On a third-and-goal, Reagie would get the inside handoff to punch it in for a second touchdown and extend the lead to 14-0 for Corrigan.
The Panther offense finally got going late in the half, as Harris started to air it out to reach the red zone, then connected with senior Zane O’Neal for a touchdown pass. This cut the deficit 14-7 late in the half.
Murphy immediately responded for the Bulldogs, breaking for a huge kickoff return into Normangee territory.
From inside the red zone, Bulldog junior William Ratliff caught the touchdown pass from senior quarterback Michael Sullivan in the closing minute to extend to a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Corrigan came out just as hot, as Reagie broke free for a 62-yard rushing touchdown to start the third quarter. This extended the margin to 26-7 for the Bulldogs.
After a Panter three-and-out, Corrigan’s offense was pinned back near their own end zone on the following possession. Despite this, Reagie had the run of the night, slicing and dicing the Normangee defenders to avoid many tacklers all the way for an 87-yard rushing touchdown.
This extended the lead 33-7, as the Bulldogs started to pull away, but Normangee would keep fighting with a return touchdown on the next kickoff to make it 33-14 midway in the third.
Later, Bulldog senior Braylon Levy caught a bomb from Sullivan to get near the red zone going into the fourth quarter. Then, Sullivan would take the quarterback keeper up the middle on a 30-yard touchdown run to further extend Corrigan’s lead with 40 points.
The Panthers responded with another touchdown pass, plus a two-point run conversion to cut it to 40-22 inside the final 10 minutes.
Reagie punched back with a strong kickoff return for Corrigan, then Marshall powered for a run up the middle. This setup Reagie to get the outside pitch from Sullivan for an eight-yard touchdown to seal it in the final moments, despite the Panthers getting a last-second score inside the final minute.
The Bulldogs will try to continue their district win streak, traveling to Jewett to face the Leon Cougars. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
