Worth County's junior high Tigers were never seriously challenged for the last 1+ years in football, but on Monday, they got a scare from Bedford. They twice had to come back from 22 point deficits before they finally took control in the fourth quarter and won 56-34.
The trouble started right off the bat when everyone overran Dallyn Neudorff, who ran back the opening kickoff for a score and ran in the extra points to make it 8-0. Then, Worth County fumbled it on their first play from scrimmage. Bedford had a huge offensive line, Worth County gave up a lot of size, and Bedford's backs were big, quick, and tough to bring down. They rolled into the end zone on carries from Quentin Dalton and then Neudorff again, and Dalton dove into the end zone again to make it 16-0 with 5:14 left in the first.
Still shell shocked from Bedford's opening blitz, Worth County fumbled twice on the center/quarterback exchange and were forced to punt. This time, it was John Deemer who broke loose, getting a 55 yard sweep into the end zone to make it 22-0.
With Bedford selling out to stop the run, Worth County took to the air to score after Bo Collins had a long kickoff return to the Bedford 37. They made it to the 25 before Hayden Sanders threw a strike to Collins with 7:52 left in the second quarter to make it 22-6. But Worth County gave it right back as Neudorff once again ran back the kickoff for a score to make it 28-6.
But Worth County showed some life after they got a long kickoff return again to the 39. Two plays later, Hayden Sanders connected with Caleb New from 36 yards out to make it 28-12 with 6:45 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hayden Sanders rung Neudorff's bell at the 22, and from that point, Worth County looked like a completely different team as they realized that if you tackled their backs properly, they would go down like anyone else. Dalton converted a third and one to the Bedford 34, but then Ethan Lininger got a sack and Hayden Sanders recovered the ensuing fumble and Worth County had a short field to work with at the Bedford 24. Sanders got a block from Bo Collins down to the 12 and then later scrambled after a pass play broke down and broke tackle after tackle to get into the end zone to make it 28-18.
Bedford gashed Worth County again, this time on a 44 yard jet sweep from Neudorff with 1:22 left in the half. But then disaster struck the Bulldogs right before half after Worth County set up shop at their own 26. First, Cole Ruby got loose for 13 yards on an option to the 39. Then, Bo Collins got into the second level on a dive play; once he gets into the second level, he is usually gone, and he took it 41 yards to the house. Hayden Sanders ran in the extra points to make it 34-26.
Then, on their first play from scrimmage, Bedford fumbled it and Bo Collins recovered on the Bedford 29 to set up another short field. Caleb New caught a seven yard pass, but with time winding down, the Tigers were faced with fourth and three at the 22 with 29 seconds. They successfully converted the fourth down, getting a 10 yard sweep from Collins down to the 12. An incomplete pass set up second and 10 with 18 seconds, but then Bo Collins' catch and run got the Tigers into the end zone with 9.5 seconds left. Hayden Sanders was stopped short this time as Bedford kept a 36-34 lead, but Ethan Lininger got a sack at the end of the half to prevent an answer.
Sensing the game slipping away, Bedford tried an onsides kick to start the second half, but Dylan Smith had a good heads-up play and covered it at the Tiger 35. Hayden Sanders took a sweep right, reversed his field, and went down the left sideline for 25 yards to the Bedford 20. Worth County overcame a sack as Bo Collins converted a fourth and seven with a seven yard run to the 10. But the Tigers fumbled it and were faced with third and goal at the 11, and Bedford put 3-4 players on Collins, who was lined up at receiver, and they took over on downs.
But a false start put them back on the six, and Lininger dropped Dalton at the three. Bedford tried a quick hitter, but only got one yard. A short pass was played perfectly by Hayden Sanders, who dropped Deemer for no gain. For some reason, Bedford elected to go for it despite it being fourth and 17 at their own 4. Dalton nearly broke one on a scramble, but he was stopped short of the first down at the 12 and Worth County only needed one play to get in, a 12 yard reverse to Jude Archer, a new kid, who made his presence known in the second half. Hayden Sanders ran a sweep to the left side and the Tigers led for the first time at 40-34.
Worth County elected to squib it the rest of the way and not risk another runback from Neudorff. Bedford could not get anywhere on its next series as they had a snap infraction, Bo Collins shot through unblocked and dropped Deemer for six, and a quick pitch to Neudorff went nowhere as Hayden Sanders blew up the play. Once again, for some reason, Bedford went for it on fourth and 19 from their own 29 and this time only got two yards as Cole Ruby and Bo Collins blew up an option play to give the Tigers the ball on the Bedford 31. They only needed one play to take advantage of the short field as Bo Collins shot through a hole, got to the second level, and was gone with 7:33 left in the fourth. Cole Ruby got to the edge on a sweep to make it 48-34.
After the squib kick, Bedford started on their own 27. Ethan Lininger pulled down Deemer for a loss of one, a last-ditch tackle by Reyen Hansen stopped Neudorff from breaking one, and a pass breakup by Jude Archer on third down set up fourth and six at the Bedford 31. There was a heartstopping moment as Neudorff got behind the Tiger defense by five yards, but Dalton's pass was too far for him and the Tigers took over on downs. With all the defensive attention on Collins, Cole Ruby was able to find some daylight on the next series as he took an option pitch from Sanders and weaved his way 24 yards down to the seven. On the next play, he cut it inside and shot past two defenders to score with 5:14 left. He ran in the extra points to make it 56-34.
Worth County tried the onsides kick, but Bedford covered at the Tiger 38. A false start set back Bedford again and Deemer got three yards back to the 40. But then Bedford tried a quick pitch, only for Jude Archer to disrupt the play, nearly stealing it and running it back. Caleb New then got a perfect tackle on Neudorff for a loss. Bedford tried to get Dalton loose, only for Lininger, New, and Archer to swarm him under, and Dalton's last ditch effort was stopped short of the first down at the 32. Collins' first down run allowed the Tigers to run out the clock.
For Bedford, Dalton had 10 carries for 52 yards. Neudorff had 7 carries for 53 yards, and Deemer had 7 carries for 63 yards. Barrick Gladman had 1 carry for 0 yards. Dalton completed 1 of 3 passes for 0 yards. Bedford ran 28 plays for 168 yards, only 17 yards in the second half.
For Worth County, Bo Collins ran 12 times for 128 yards. Hayden Sanders had 6 carries for 48 yards. Cole Ruby had 4 carries for 49 yards. Jude Archer had 1 carry for 12 yards. Hayden Sanders had 5 completions in 12 attempts for 84 yards. Bo Collins had 3 catches for 41 yards, and Caleb New had 2 catches for 43 yards. Worth County ran 35 plays for 321 yards.
The "B" squad tied 8-8. The junior varsity squad lost 44-0.
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