Belgreen wins on historic night

It was a night filled with history and excitement with the first-ever home football game for the Belgreen Bulldogs hosting the Shoals Christian Flame.

The two weeks leading up to their first game had been full of newspaper coverage and television coverage for the small community school off Highway 24. Game week began to build to a crescendo with a crowded stadium on Thursday evening for Meet the Bulldogs.

On Friday, the buzz of anticipation permeated the school day, ending with the pep rally. Finally, the traffic started to file into Sparks Stadium, which is still under construction. Well before the game began, the temporary bleachers were packed. Fans brought their lawn chairs and filled in gaps along the fence from endzone to endzone. People were watching from their chairs and vehicles on the hill above the stadium.

A drone flown by Levi Crittenden, whose mom teaches at Belgreen, captured the moments as the sun set, surrounding the area filled with pitch darkness except for the Friday night lights that illuminated the bright green and blue turf field and track. Someone came prepared with fireworks for every Bulldog score. They fired them into the night sky four times as Belgreen added to the historic event with a 20-6 win.

“This was a huge win for these kids, our school and the Belgreen community,” said head coach Jonathan Raper. “They have worked really hard this summer and during preseason practice. They have seen the good that can come from hard work. We wanted to establish ourselves as a team that shouldn’t be overlooked.”

“We had a great pep rally today, and everyone was excited,” Raper added.

“It was pretty nice,” said senior quarterback Landon Cox. “We knew it was going to be an exciting night, but to get the win made it even better. I felt like we got stronger as the game went on. I felt like we had a chance to win the game late in the third quarter. They were getting tired, and we were playing well.”

It was a typical first game with nervous excitement from both teams and mistakes as well. As exciting as the night was, the game was marred with dropped passes, fumbles and penalties.

Belgreen took an early lead when a Shoals Christian punt snap flew over the punters head deep in Belgreen territory. The Flame’s punter chased the ball down and kicked it out of the back of the endzone for a safety, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Shoals Christian recovered on their next drive to take a 6-2 lead.

Belgreen took the lead again with 4:03 to go in the third quarter when Skylar Vickery broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead.

Belgreen extended their lead to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Landon Cox to Lucas Chambliss.

That touchdown gave the Bulldogs the confidence they needed to get across the finish line.

“We came ready to play.  After our second touchdown, I felt like we could win the game,” said Brayden Messer, who had a strong defensive game for the Bulldogs.

Shoals Christian turned the ball over two straight times on their own 19-yard line. Rush Berryman recovered the first fumble, but the Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage.

Brayden Messer secured the second fumble on the Flame 19-yard line. Vickery had a run of 13 yards and then a six-yard touchdown run to seal the victory for Belgreen 20-7.

Vickery put the offense on his shoulders in the second half with big runs for the Bulldogs. He sustained an injury late in the game and status was unknown.

“Skylar is a hard-nosed runner,” said Messer. “We know when he touched the ball, he is going to hit someone and make them miss.”

“It was exciting,” Raper said. “Now, we need to settle into the season and prepare every week like we have this week.”

The Bulldogs travel to Sumiton Christian Friday night.