Lions capitalize on turnovers to best Bulldogs
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER SENIOR BRANDON MCQUEEN breaks into the open field against Livingston. McQueen rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury.

Ask any football coach a key to a ball game and they will tell you "don't turn the ball over."

The Livingston Lions capitalized on eight Bulldog turnovers to cruise to 27-15 victory over Jasper at the Bone Yard Friday, Aug. 31.

"We had nearly 400 yards of offense but we had eight turnovers," said Jasper Head Football Coach Thomas Brooks. "It's hard to win like that. We would drive the ball on them and then something bad would happen. You don't have too many games where your opponent will score three defensive touchdowns. I have been coaching for 25 years and that's the first time I have ever seen that happen."

In fact, at the halftime break, Jasper clung to a 7-6 lead after a sloppy first-half of play by both squads. But, the intermission just slowed Jasper's free fall in the second half as the Bulldogs began a forgettable third quarter.

After Jasper's defense forced Livingston to punt the ball over on their initial drive on the second half, the Bulldogs' nightmare began.

On their second play of the second half, Livingston's Brandon McGowen stripped the ball from Jasper quarterback Cameron Stubblefield deep in Jasper's territory. Livingston's Lamar Bogany picked up the loose ball and rambled in 15 yards for the touchdown to give the Lions a lead they would never relinquish.

The score, with 8:03 left in the third quarter, gave Livingston a 14-7 lead after a successful two-point conversion.

Jasper's night worsened on the ensuing possession.

After a poor return gave the ball to Jasper at their own 10, a motion penalty moved the ball back five yards. Jasper's Landis McBride fumbled the ball on the next play and Livingston's Dustin Harris recovered the ball in the end zone for another Lion score.

With 7:40 left in the third quarter, Livingston had blown open a close contest and taken a quick 21-7 lead.

"I was real proud of our defensive coaches for keeping the defensive guys going," Brooks said. "That kind of a game can be very frustrating. You play great defense and the offense turns the ball over and it leads to two quick touchdowns.

"We're a team, not an offense and defense," Brooks said.

Jasper appeared ready to put the slow second-half start to an end on their next drive. Starting from their own 19, Jasper continued to move the ball at ease against the Lions' defense. In fact, Jasper out gained Livingston 345-176 on the night.

"We dominated the game," Brooks said. "But we didn't dominate where it counted and that was the scoreboard. I am not down about it at all."

Octavious Rawls got the drive going by reeling off a 12 yard down to the Jasper 31. Kadarroe Rawls converted a key third-down play when he gained nine yards to move the ball to the Jasper 46-yard line.

Everything appeared to be clicking for the Bulldogs until they faced a secondand one at the Livingston 45. Jasper executed a perfect pass pattern when Livingston's corners bit on a Stubblefield fake but his pass floated on a long pass down the sideline and was intercepted by Livingston's Caleb Washington at the Lion 20 to kill the drive.

The Lions went three and out on the ensuing possession but Jasper again shot themselves in the foot on their next drive. Two straight rushes netted only three yards and Stubblefield was again intercepted when the Lions' Jake Rowe at the Livingston 8 picked off a third-down bomb pass.

Livingston finally gave Jasper back a bit when the Lions snapped the ball over the head of punter Drew Nelson on their following possession. Nelson picked up the ball at his three and run out the back of the end zone to give Jasper a safety on the play.

The score pulled the Bulldogs to within 21-9 with 10:39 left in the contest.

Anybody who thought Jasper was completely out of the contest was stunned when Jasper's Dominique Bailey returned the ensuing free kick back to the midfield stripe. A key third-down conversion occurred when Stubblefield connected with Malcolm Bronson down to the Livingston 24. Brandon McQueen converted another key third-down call when he rambled down to the Lion 4. Jasper was knocking on the scoring door as the Lions called a timeout to regroup their defense.

But little did the Jasper faithful knew that the scoring door was actually a scoring opportunity for the visiting Lions when McQueen coughed up the ball and Livingston's Bogany picked up the loose ball and rambled 95 yards for a score and his second defensive touchdown of the night.

The score, with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter, gave Livingston a 27-9 lead and put the game on ice.

"We didn't give up," Brooks said. "The next thing you know, they are running it in for a touchdown."

Jasper finally reached the end zone offensively late in the contest. Jasper sophomore Kaddaroe Rawls outran the Livingston defense and scored from 74 yards out to pull the Dawgs to within the final margin of 27-15.

"(Kaddaroe) runs hard and I think he will be getting a lot more handoffs in the future," Brooks said.

The Dawgs may have given a fore shadow of the game on their first drive on the night. Jasper was moving the ball offensively when Aaron Garrett fumbled the ball over after a short reception.

Working with a short field, Livingston moved down the field but watched as the drive was stalled by a stubborn Jasper defense. The Bulldogs forced the Lions to attempt a 30-yard field goal and when Nelson misfired on the attempt, Jasper appeared ready to take control of the contest early.

On their next possession, Jasper carved up the Livingston defense and moved the ball at will against the Lions. Using the passing of Stubblefield and the bullish running of McQueen, the Bulldogs moved right down the field. The Dawgs moved down to the Livingston 12 but the drive stalled and Jasper turned the ball over on downs.

After Livingston went three and out on their next drive, the Bulldogs continued to move the ball with ease. Jasper drove down to the Livingston 17 only to see a turnover end the drive again.

This time, Jasper's Kendrick Fowler fumbled a high snap and Livingston's Dustin Phillips bounced on the loose ball.

Jasper was finally able to reach the scoreboard late in the second quarter. After a Derrick Day punt pinned the Lions back at the Livingston 17, the Lions prepared to run out the clock on the first half of play.

Instead of taking a knee and running out the clock, Livingston's Harris attempted a rushing attempt and fumbled the ball over to Jasper. The Dawgs' Xavier Mays recovered the loose ball to give Jasper a scoring threat with seconds left in the first half.

Jasper made Livingston pay for the turnover when Stubblefield connected with Malcolm Bronson on a slant pattern for an eight-yard score with four seconds left in the first half.

Jasper's Zach Riggins converted the PAT to give Jasper their only lead of the night at 7-6.

Brooks said he is hoping this game serves a valuable lesson to his squad when district comes around.

"These games are what get you ready for district," Brooks said. "I don't want to be 3-0 and lose district ballgames. We are going to get better for district. We are still working out some kinks.

"This was our first ballgame as a staff," Brooks said. "This was my first time to see what these kids could do. We will be better because of this game. The way I look at it, we are getting all these turnovers out of our system. It's not anything to panic about."