Missed opportunites cost Dothan

Blount head coach Kelvin Sigler wanted to put Friday’s game in the hands of his defense.

In the end, it came down to that defensive unit.

And it delivered.

The Leopards defense held off a last-second Dothan threat, preserving a 14-8 win over the Tigers at Rip Hewes Stadium and making a third-quarter 19-yard interception return by lineman Broderick Hughes hold up as the game-winning score.

“The defense has been playing well the last three-four ball games,” Sigler said. “I didn’t want the offense to come out and make mistakes. I wanted to let the defense win the game for us.

“We had too many penalties, so we had to fight through some adversity.”

Blount finished with 15 penalties for 127 yards, including a holding call in the end zone that gave Dothan a safety in the third quarter.

For Dothan (1-7), it was a tough loss in a struggling season.

“We had a lot of injuries all night, but I am proud of my guys. They didn’t quit,” Dothan head coach Kelvis White said. “I wouldn’t trade them for anybody. Now we have to go to Enterprise and try to find a way to win.”

Dothan had a chance to salvage the win in the final seconds, moving to the Blount 33 with 15.7 seconds left following a 20-yard scramble by backup quarterback Barnard McGhee.

McGhee, normally Dothan’s top receiver, was in his second series at quarterback following an injury to starter Diantae Thomas.

McGhee fired deep to the right side, but Blount’s Sharmon Darrington batted it down.
Another batted pass followed, leaving just 1.9 seconds left.

After a illegal motion penalty pushed Dothan back to the 38, McGhee heaved a hail mary attempt to the left side, but two Blount defenders batted it away at the goal line.

Tied at 8-8 midway in the third quarter, Dothan had the momentum after stopping Blount running back Najee Brown short of a first down on 4th-and-4 at the Dothan 27.

On their first play after the stop,  the Tigers called for a middle screen pass, but Blount’s Jessie Wright tipped the pass and Hughes caught it in the air, shook of a Dothan tackle try and rambled into the end zone.

A two-point try failed, but the Leopards led 14-8 with 4:03.4 left in the third quarter.
The interception was the second on a middle screen in the game by Blount. Wright intercepted one in the first half.

Sigler said the Blount defense was expecting the middle screen pass play.

“They wanted to slow us down with our speed by running screens,” Sigler said. “We wanted to get our hands in passing lanes and Broderick Hughes, a defensive tackle, made a heck of a play and made a great run after the interception.”

Though it was intercepted twice, the play had worked several times earlier. Dothan’s White credited the Blount defense for making the big play.

“We saw some things we felt we could do,” White said. “It was just a great effort on their guy’s part to tip it and the big guy did a good job of getting the interception and running it.”
Dothan, behind a 25-yard kickoff return to the 38 by Adrian Kirkland and a 19-yard Thomas to Kamryn Melton pass, moved to the Blount 27 on the ensuing series.

However, McGhee failed to gain then Dothan had an incomplete pass, bringing up fourth down.

White called out kicker Ryan Mullins for a 43-yard field goal try. The attempt was long enough, but it hit the left post and bounced back.

Dothan went three-and-out on the next two series and lost Thomas to an injury on a third-down scramble play on the first one.

Dothan’s defense then stopped Brown on an option play to the left on 4th-and-1 at the DHS 34 with 1:17.5 left, setting up the Tigers’ final threat.

Blount threatened on its opening possession of the game, moving to the Tiger 8, mainly behind Brown’s running.

A host of Tigers dropped Brown for a 6-yard loss then Jeremy Lockett stepped in front of a pass in the end zone for an interception.

The Leopards wouldn’t be denied on the next series, marching 13 plays and 70 yards.

Blount quarterback Mike Ward capped the drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

The Leopards went for two with holder Kelton Brackett completing a pass to Janaswski Davis to make it 8-0 with 7:18.5 left in the second quarter.

Dothan seized some momentum late in the half, storming down the field on an nine-play, 69-yard scoring drive in barely a minute.

Three Thomas to McGhee completions, the last 8-yard TD strike with just 1.9 seconds left, highlighted the drive. McGhee caught the pass right at the pylon. A try for two failed, leaving it 8-6.

Penalties problems by Blount helped Dothan tie it as the Leopards lost 20 yards, including 19 off three flags, including one for holding in the end zone, resulting in a safety.