The Brantley Bulldogs advanced in the AHSAA Class 1A State Football Playoffs with a convincing 48-8 win over the Verbena Red Devils at Bulldog Stadium Thursday night. The victory was the eleventh of the 2006 season for the powerful Bulldogs against no losses. Chris Booker got the "Dawgs" going with only 21 seconds gone in the first period when he took the ball on the first play from scrimmage and ran 62 yards untouched for a quick 6-0 lead. Marquis Owens kicked the extra point, and Brantley had an early 7-0 lead. On the Bulldogs next possession, sophomore sensation Anthony Gulley raced in from 31 yards out for a touchdown on the Bulldogs with 7:01 on the clock. Owens made it 14-0 with the point after. Verbena fumbled on their following possession, and Brantley struck quickly on the first play after the recovery when quarterback Jonathan Helms reached back and fired a perfect 47 yard touchdown pass to Thad Frazier for the Bulldogs next score. Owens kicked his third PAT for a 21-0 lead. Brantley added a fourth touchdown in the first period when Jeffrey Daniels rambled 43 yards behind beautiful blocking for a score with 3:28 showing on the clock. Owens missed his only PAT of the night for a 27-0 Bulldog lead. Then in the second quarter Booker tacked on his second TD of the night on a 46 yard dash with 10:59 on the clock. Owens made it 34-0 with the point after. Booker didn't stop with that score, With 6:08 left in the first half, he ran for a 15 yard score, and Owens added the point after to make it 41-0 at the half. Coach David Lowery began playing a lot of players at this point, and the Bulldogs added one more score in the second half when Gulley found Frazier on a 20 yard scoring pass. The point after by Owens made it 48-0 with 7:12 left in the third period. Brantley gave a lot of young players some valuable playoff experience the rest of the game, and Verbena managed to score on a pass play and add the two point conversion in the final period of play to make the final score 48-8. for pictures click here Back to BHS