Bulloch Academy senior quarterback Jordan Walker ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Gators blasted Bethesda Day School 36-7 Friday night at Gator Alley.
Walker scored on a one-yard sneak in the first quarter and a 12-yard jaunt in the third. He also connected with Darion Carter, a senior transfer from Screven County, on touchdowns passes of 12 and 32 yards. Senior wingback Ethan Lovett capped the Gators’ scoring in the fourth with a 49-yard run.
“I’m very pleased with the balance of our offense,” said Bulloch Academy head coach Clint Morgan. “Our goal going into the game was to try and get many different hands on the football. I think we accomplished that.”
Lovett led Bulloch on the ground with 134 rushing yards on just eight carries. He hit the hole quick and hard on the wingback trap to make big runs of 28, 13, 12 and 11. He also had a 35-yard kickoff return.
“They (Bethesda’s defense) were really flowing with our motion,” said Morgan. “That’s one of the few misdirection plays we run. When we saw them moving so much, we knew that that would be open.”
Walker gained 100 yards on 16 carries and was 3-of-5 in the passing department for 67 yards. He hooked up with Carter, a member of the WTOC Channel 11 pre-season all-star football team, twice for wide-open catches. The new addition to the Gator squad makes a lot of things happen.
“Darion is a super football player and a very unselfish football player,” said Morgan. “He opens doors for everyone around him. In our offense, our opponents have to honor the possibility of one of six different people touching the ball on any given snap. Darion is that sixth man.”
Bulloch (2-1) opened the game with a solid and time-consuming 10-play drive when Walker plunged in from one yard out at the 6:35 mark. But less than a minute later, Bethesda knotted the score. On the second play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Daniel Wilson took off around the right end and put on a show as he raced 46 yards to pay dirt.
“We knew that they were going to get their fair share of big plays,” said Morgan. “A team which is that athletic is always going to have big plays. But I credit our defense for sticking to the plan. After that first drive, we did a great job of it.”
On the night, Ronnie Hodges’ defense limited the Blazers to just 148 yards of total offense. Take away Wilson’s run and Bethesda (1-3) had just 102 yards on the night.
“Coach Hodges had a super game plan,” said Morgan. “The guys executed very nicely.”
After the first quarter, Lovett, Walker, Ben Newton, Michael Kimbrell, Michael Deloach and Nathan Brown held the Blazers to just 29 yards on the ground and grounded the high-passing air attack of Wilson, who was just 2-of-12 on the night.
The pair of Walker-to-Carter touchdown passes came in the second quarter to give Bulloch a 21-7 halftime lead.