Shutting out their first opponent of the season, the Anton Bulldogs defeated the Dawson Eagles 52-0, remaining unbeaten at 4-0.
Anton’s run game found big chunks when using their running back, Isaiah Alafa, who ran for 153 yards on five carries and added four touchdowns.
“He’s (Alafa) just an electric kid. He’s just so quick,” Anton’s head coach Rutledge said about Alafa scoring on four out of five carries.
The defense for Anton was able to nullify Dawson’s offense as the Bulldogs consistently pushed the Eagles behind the chains, racking up 10 tackles-for-loss for 62 yards.
Performing like this on defense satisfied coach Rutledge, as they emphasized defense during the bye week to work through some early kinks.
“Earlier in the year, we had guys trying to make plays all the time when it really wasn’t their play to make,” Rutledge said. “We’ve just gotten more disciplined over the course of the last three weeks, and we’re reading things a lot better.”
Preparing to remain undefeated as Anton is becoming more complete on both sides of the ball, they will play their “toughest matchup so far in the season,” Rutledge said, previewing the game against Petersburg.
“This will be the first team we play that actually matches with us in our speed and quickness, so just that alone, it’s going to be a tough matchup,” Rutledge said. “They do a lot of different things offensively; they’re aggressive defensively.”
The Anton Bulldogs will go on the road to take on the Petersburg Buffaloes at 7 pm on Oct. 2.