STILL IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT
Panthers upset Van; coach says victory 'biggest in the history of football at Bullard'
By Don Wallace

It was a win that kept Bullard in the playoff hunt and much, much more. Bullard rallied for three second half touchdown to take a 28-21 victory over Van in a key District 14-3A battle Friday, Oct. 20.

The crowd at Panther Stadium also perhaps got to see a milestone in the progression of the Bullard football program.

"The win was one of the biggest in the history of football at Bullard," Panther football coach Rex Sharp admitted. "Nobody, other than ourselves, thought we could beat Van. Alot of people did not expect us to win, but we did. Van is a excellent, well-respected, wellcoached team. We took everything thing they had and still won the game."

With the win, Bullard is 4-2 overall, 1-1 in district. Van falls to 4-3, 0-2.

In the second half, desperate to comeback and win, Van fired every bullet they had and pulled several cats out of the bag. The Vandals blocked a punt, ran back a kickoff, converted an onside kick and the Panthers hung on to win the spirited contest.

Sharp pointed to his defense as a huge part of the success against Van.

"Defense, our defense played very well. David Adams (defensive coordinator) and the other coaches got the players in a good position and they had an excellent game plan. If you look at the stats, it was domination by our defense," Sharp added.

Van was held to 170 total yards, compared to 365 for Bullard. To illustrate the point, Van ended the game with a pack of Panthers sacking quarterback Blake Pennington.

Standout Van running back Jermie Calhoun was held to 47 yards and did not play a portion of the game due injury.

Bullard got a 16-tackle night from linebacker Jeff Alsobrook. Defensive lineman Willie Gordon also had some impressive hits and records 13 tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

Quarterback Cameron Clark spearheaded the offense for the Panthers. The signalcaller completed 4 of 12 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Clark also ran 22 times for 87 yards. For the year, Clark has thrown for 1,008 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also has added more than 400 yards toting the mail.

Against the Vandals, Geoff Dick was the top runner with 12 carries for 102 yards and one score.

The first half was a near draw with the bands marching while the game was deadlocked at 7-all.

The Panthers in the second half decided the game and maybe their position in the district race.

Bullard started the second half in impressive fashion, striking like lightning for a long touchdown. Clark drifted back in the pocket behind protection and launched a perfect strike downfield. As the accurate spiral sailed swiftly through the cool October night down field Panther receiver Justin Hollie sliced between defenders to catch the ball in stride. The Vandals crashed into each other as Hollie took the ball the distance for a game-changing 81- yard touchdown reception. The Charlie Moore kick game Bullard a 14-7 lead with 10:28 left in the third quarter.

Van drove in Bullard territory, but had to surrender the ball on downs.

Bullard was also held scoreless the remainder of the period.

Crunch time came in the fourth period and both teams were up for the challenge.

Bullard took a 20-7 lead with 9:18 remaining as they capped a drive with a 41-scoring strike from Clark to Landon Willborn.

Van would not go away as strung together successful runs and marched to the Panther 29- yard line. Again the Bullard defense held as they took over on downs.

Bullard was content to run the clock and the ball, taking time off the scoreboard. But when the drive fizzled, the Panthers had to punt. Van came up with a special play on special teams blocking the punt. Set up at the Bullard 16-yard line, the Vandals quickly scored with Jarvis Crawford doing the damage from 1-yard out. The Panthers saw their lead slice to 20-14 following the extra point at the 1:52 mark of the final frame.

The Vandals did not recov- -er the onside kick, but soon they had the ball back when the Panthers coughed up the pigskin.

Van ran just 29 seconds off the clock as four passes down field fell incomplete. Bullard had the ball and a sixpoint lead with 1:14 left. A personal foul on Van moved the ball closer to the goal line for Bullard.

The Panthers put what they thought was icing on the cake when Alsobrook scored on a rumbling run up the middle of the field.

DeQuan Granberry raced over for the two-point conversion and Bullard took a sigh of relief up 28-14 with just 53 ticks left on the game clock. It only took 13 seconds to score as Emmanuel Hayes bobbled the kickoff, then gained control and followed teammates down the field for an 84-yard touchdown return of the ensuing kickoff.

The extra point allowed Van to reduce the Bullard lead again to 28-21.

The Vandals then executed and recovered an onside kick.

The Bullard defense raced back on the field to save the day.

Van moved the ball into Bullard territory at the 35-yard line.

But an incomplete pass and a sack ended the game for the Vandals and allowed the Panthers to secure the 28-21 win as time ran out.

In the first half, Bullard struck with ball control grinding out an 84-yard drive.

The capping play was a 9- yard yard run and dive for the goal line by Dick.

Moore's extra point was good as the home team went up 7-0.

Van answered with a second Above, Geoff Dick was the leading rusher for Bullard in recent District 14-3A action against Van. Dick had more than 100 yards rushing and a score in the 28-21 win over the Vandals. Left, Bullard head football coach and athletic director Rex Sharp talks to coaches in the press box calling plays during the recent Van game. quarter touchdown by Crawford. The extra point tied the game at 7-all.

Bullard had another scoring chance later in the second period, but a field goal attempt by Moore sailed wide.

The bulk of the scoring and spine-tingling action happened in the second half as Bullard out-scored the visiting Vandals, 21-14.

Bullard will trek to Chapel Hill on Friday, Oct. 27 for another key district battle.

Brownsboro defeated Chapel Hill, 33-14 in action played Oct. 20.

"Chapel Hill is good, they have some talented players," Sharp said. "They are another program, like Athens, which is down from 4A so they have the numbers other schools don't have. They are big and have speed; it will be a challenge for us.

"But our goal is still in reach. I want this team to make the playoffs; we've never done that a Bullard as a 3A school.

"That goal stayed alive for us with this big win over Van."

JV score

The Bullard junior varsity suffered their first loss of the year, losing to Van, 21-14.

Brandon Beavers scored twice and had a two-point conversion for the Panthers. Teammate Daniel Howard added a touchdown while Preston Seaton-Knoxx picked off a pass.

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