Brookstone misses last-minute chance to beat Dooly County

Brookstone lost a slugfest to Dooly County 22-16 on Friday night at Rex Knight Stadium.

The Cougars had an opportunity to win it at the end, but Frank Waldrep's pass to Prather Hudson near the goal line was just beyond the receiver's reach.

"We had a chance to win," said Brookstone coach Scott Pethtel. "The pass looked just a little bit overthrown."

Dooly has now won four in a row over Brookstone, which dropped to 5-4, 5-2 in Region 4-A. Dooly moved to 6-3, 5-2 in region.

The Bobcats from Vienna, Ga., used a straight-ahead running attack and stingy defense to beat the Cougars. Dooly's Stevie Rhodes was the workhorse for the Bobcats, gaining 96 yards on 20 carries, most of them between the tackles.

"They were very physical like I thought they would be," said Pethtel. "They had a size advantage and pushed us around a little bit."

Neither team scored in the first quarter as both defenses forced punts and turnover on downs.

Brookstone got on the scoreboard first in the second quarter when D'Andre Dashiell scored on a 9-yard run up the middle, shedding tackles as he crossed the goal line. The extra point by Matt Taich made it 7-0.

But Dooly's Dre Lawson returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, and a 2-point conversion made it 8-7 Dooly.

Late in the first half with 6 seconds to go, Brookstone's Matt Taich kicked a 41-yard field goal to put the Cougars up 10-8 at the break. Setting up the field goal was a nicely executed halfback pass from Dashiell to wide receiver Frank Waldrep that covered 35 yards.

But Dooly took its opening drive in the second half down the field and scored when Rhodes ran it in from 11 yards out. The 2-point run by Bo Lawson made it Dooly 16, Brookstone 10.

Late in the third quarter, Dooly tried to convert on fourth-and-6, but Brookstone's Josh Long caused a fumble when he wrapped up the quarterback. It was recovered by the Cougars' Culver Norred on their 46.

A few plays later Brookstone's Sam Ndem darted up the middle and scored on a 41-yard play. But the extra point was blocked and the score stayed tied at 16-16.

Dooly scored the last touchdown of the game at 10:35 in the fourth quarter when Bo Lawson passed 34 yards to Dre Lawson.

The Cougars had a chance on their final drive when quarterback Russell Blanchard threw it to Waldrep behind the line of scrimmage. The receiver then heaved it downfield just over the outstretched hands of Hudson.

"We kept battling," said Pethtel. "We need to rebound from this and come next week ready to play hard."

Ndem was the leading rusher for the Cougars, gaining 95 yards on 14 carries.Friday at Rex Knight StadiumDooly 0 8 8 6--22

Brookstone 0 10 6 0--16Second Quarter

B--D"Andre Dashiell 9 run (Matt Taich kick), 11:12

D--Dre Lawson 82 kickoff return (Stevie Rhodes run), 10:57

B--Taich 41 FG, 0:00Third QuarterD--Rhodes 11 run (Bo Lawson run), 8:10

B--Sam Ndem 41 run (kick failed), 1:10Fourth QuarterD--Dee Lawson 34 pass from Bo Lawson (run failed), 10:35

Team records: Dooly County 6-3, 5-2 Region 4-A. Brookstone 5-4, 5-2. Next: Brookstone, home vs. Schley County, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Brookstone misses last-minute chance to beat Dooly County ."