Enterprise takes close victory

By By Robby Atkinson/staff writer
November 15, 2003
ENTERPRISE The Enterprise Bulldogs knew coming into their second-round game with St. John that it would be a war. The Eagles gave the Bulldogs all they could handle on Friday night, but Enterprise came away with an exciting 20-19 win to remain alive in the Class 2A playoffs.
The win for the Bulldogs will set up a huge rematch next week on the road at Taylorsville. The Tartars won a big thriller over Lumberton on the road by a final of 21-20 in overtime. Enterprise head coach Joel Speed was one happy coach after the close win over St. John.
The entire first quarter was nothing more than a defensive struggle, but the Eagles came away with the only touchdown of the first half in the second quarter. Quarterback Paul Roberts found a terrific hole around the right end to score from 10 yards out and give St. John a 6-0 lead after a missed PAT with 1:24 remaining in the half.
St. John got the ball back very quickly and had an excellent chance to put the ball in the endzone again. Roberts attempted a long pass to the goal line from 45 yards out, but Scott Mosley collected an interception to send the game into halftime with Eagles on top 6-0.
Enterprise came out of the break on fire as far as the running game was concerned with a long drive to get back into the game. The Bulldogs went on a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Wade Weathers to tie the game at 6-6 after a failed extra point with 7:03 showing on the third quarter clock.
St. John answered right back with a long drive of their own to take a 13-6 lead with 22 second left in the third period. Antonio Hayes led the charge with a 12-yard plunge to put his team on top. The next 20 seconds were the strangest turn of events that one may see in high football all season.
Enterprise only needed one play from scrimmage to tie the game at 13-13 with one second remaining in the third quarter. Cody Windham broke a 73-yard run for a touchdown to bring the Bulldogs back to life. On the ensuing kickoff, Demarcus Taylor recovered a fumble for Enterprise and sent the game into the final period.
Enterprise got a little breathing room with a 36-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs out to a 20-13 lead with 10:11 left in the fourth. The teams exchanged possessions over the next seven minutes until the Eagles got a huge break.
St. John drove the ball down to the EHS 15-yard line and faced fourth down and long. The Eagles stayed alive thanks to a pair of questionable offside penalties and one play later St. John entered the endzone. Ro'Man Martin got the score from four yards out, but Jared Giardina missed a crucial extra point to make the score 20-19 with only 5:41 left in the game.
The Eagles had one final opportunity with a 34-yard field goal from Giardina in the closing moments, but the kick failed. Enterprise had 328 yards of total offense on the night and 303 came from the running game. Windham had 14 carries for 129 yards and Simpson followed with 16 carries for 111 yards.