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Click here to Listen Live! (during Friday games only) White House delivers second round knockout By Kris Freeman Though White House bounced back off the ropes to win round one at Greenbrier, the Blue Devils threw a definitive knockout punch to the Bobcats in the second round of the TSSAA state playoffs at Dewey H. Whitson Stadium. Scoring the first five touchdowns of the game, White House (9-3) rolled to a 36-7 victory over Greenbrier (6-6) and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the third time in this senior class' four years at WHHS. The BDP boys will play at third round game at home for the first time since 2004 when the Blue Devils were 3-0 in the playoffs on their own turf. That matchup will be against Pearl-Cohn, who defeated Station Camp 13-7 and will come to Sumner County with a berth to the semifinals on the line - and the winner of this game gets to play at home in round four. As for Friday, the Blue Devils continued the quick strike ability in the second quarter with 22 points, including a 50-yard blocked punt return by DeMarqus Payne when Will Vick collapsed the Michael Seay kick just one minute before halftime. Aussie Light hit Matt Parker for the two-point conversion and a 22-0 lead at the break. Bryan Dixon and Payne added earlier touchdown runs of five and one yards, respectively, to build the cushion. Dixon rushed seven times for 85 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and with a 44-yard touchdown run in the second half eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the year. Sophomore quarterback Trox Greenwade completed 5-of-5 passes for 96 yards and on an early strike to Matt Parker to set up Dixon's first touchdown, he also threw past the 1,000-yard plateau on the year. With Payne rushing past that total last week, it is the first time in school history the Blue Devils have had two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard passer in the same season. The Blue Devils ran just 38 plays and amassed 321 total yards, while a selfish and stingy White House defense continued its dominance through the last eight weeks of the season. The Bobcats were held to under 125 yards until midway through the fourth quarter when a pair of long drives resulted in a score to cut the lead to 36-7. After throwing four interceptions and allowing two returns for touchdowns in week 10's 17-14 win at Greenbrier, the Blue Devils were crisp and efficient, not turning the ball over and grabbing two interceptions from Greenbrier quarterback Justin Grogan. Parker and Kirk Fulghum both pulled down acrobatic grabs in the first half on defense. Grogan was 3-of-8 passing for just seven yards. Kody Littles was the team's leading tackler with 11 stops, followed by Matt Mosley with eight in a reserve role and Chris Bolton with seven tackles. Zack Ziegler rushed 15 times for 77 yards for the visitors and Seay carried nine times for 59. Although Greenbrier led time of possession by a 10-minute margin, the Bobcats were inefficient on conversion plays with 3-of-9 third downs made and 1-of-3 fourth down tries. White House completed all three trips into the red zone with scores and made 3-of-5 third downs in the game. The Bobcats drove 10 plays and 54 yards on the second series of the game into White House territory, but Parker snuffed out a lateral pass to Ziegler on first down for a loss of three. Zack Duty, Littles and Kaleb Ausbrooks swarmed Grogan on third down for no gain and Littles pulled down Seay on fourth down to turn the ball over with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter. The Blue Devils marched to paydirt on the ensuing series as Chad Neal hauled in a 34-yard grab and Parker sidestepped a tackler for a 30-yard reception to set up Dixon from five yards out and a 7-0 lead on Zack Trobaugh's extra point. The senior kicker was 4-for-4 on his birthday on PATs. Grogan was then intercepted by Parker at the White House 28 and Payne set up his own score with a 36-yard run to the one yard line before plunging it in for a 14-0 edge. Eric Dorris and Vincente Dominguez flushed out Grogan on third down from the White House 36 after a big kick return by Cory Elder of 62 yards, and the sack pushed the ball back to the Blue Devil 42 for a punt attempt. Seay never had a chance, as Vick beat the ball off the foot and popped it into the air with Payne snatching the miscue in stride for a 50-yard score and 22-0 edge. Payne also rushed 10 times for 75 yards in the game with a rushing touchdown to add. Fulghum's leaning interception ended the final Bobcat threat as they failed four times in White House territory in the first half. Dixon added runs of 19 and 44 yards in the second half as the Blue Devils cruised to a 36-7 victory and moved on to the third round.
Rivalry History
1947 - White House 18-13 |
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 Photo by Drew Christenson, The Bargain Browser White House rolled to a 36-7 win in the second round at home over Greenbrier to eliminate the Bobcats from the playoffs More on Greenbrier: Greenbrier at The Robertson County Times Results (6-6):
Pope John Paul, 35-28
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