Brantley too much for Providence Christian

By David Mundee

Published: September 6, 2008

After watching Anthony Gulley and the Brantley Bulldogs dismantle his team 48-8, Providence Christian coach Emory Latta had a simple synopsis of the game.

“The turning point of the game was them driving the bus back there and unloading at 5 o’clock this afternoon,” Latta said, pointing over to behind the Brantley bench. “The turning point was when Brantley showed up in Dothan, Ala.”

The third-ranked Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0 Class 1A, Region 2) jumped on the 10th-ranked Eagles (0-2, 0-1) right from the start, scoring on the game’s opening kickoff and on every possession in the first half. They built a 20-0 advantage by the first quarter and 34-0 at halftime before cruising to the win.

Gulley, Brantley’s 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior speedster, was a major thorn to the Eagles. He only touched the football seven times, but he scored four touchdowns in four different ways — a 78-yard kickoff return, a 90-yard run, a 61-yard pass reception and a 71-yard punt return. Gulley also had an interception near the goal line to prevent a PCS score.

“He is probably driving home the bus, too,” said Latta of Gulley’s performance. “He is a great player.”

While Brantley dominated on the scoreboard, Providence Christian actually had chances to make it more competitive, especially early.

The Eagle offense earned 15 first downs and 349 total yards off 63 plays, including 10 first downs and 186 yards in the first half, but could muster only one score — a late 94-yard touchdown run by Preston Jones.

Providence Christian moved the ball three times inside the Brantley 15 in the first half, but failed to score on all three possessions.

“We just didn’t make plays (when we got down there),” Latta said. “You can’t lay it on any one person. We just didn’t execute like we should or like we have to in order to win.”

Gulley started the Bulldog onslaught, fielding the opening kickoff on the left side at the 22 and racing across the field to his right before turning on the jets down the sideline. No Providence player had the speed to match him and he finished with a 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The extra point attempt failed, but just 15 seconds into the game, it was 6-0 Brantley.

After a 21-yard Chase Hall to Chris Walker touchdown pass made it 12-0, it was Gulley’s turn again late in the first period.

Backed up at the 10, Hall handed off to Gulley, who darted off the left end, got a block at the corner, and was off to the races for an untouched 90-yard touchdown run.

Hall passed to Britt Barnes on a two-point conversion to make it 20-0 with 22 seconds to go in the first quarter.

On Brantley’s next possession, Hall rolled out to his right and fired a pass back toward the middle to an open Gulley, who spun to his right and had no Providence defenders near him. It was an easy sprint to the end zone to complete a 61-yard touchdown pass, boosting the lead to 27-0.

The Bulldogs made it 34-0 with 1:54 to go in the half as Stephen Walker plowed over the right side on a 3-yard touchdown run.

Providence stormed down the field in the half’s final seconds, sparked by a 22-yard run by Jones and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Brantley, to push the ball to the Bulldog 10 with four seconds left.

With PCS out of timeouts, quarterback Nick Plagenhoef spiked the ball, setting up one last play, but Plagenhoef threw incomplete in the end zone on the half’s final play.

The Eagles had two scoring chances earlier. They took their second possession 43 yards in eight plays to the Bulldog 19, keyed by two great receptions by Johnny Dowd covering 13 yards on a diving catch and a 7-yarder as he was hit on the catch.

Two Chris Crawford runs netted seven yards to the 12, but an incompletion brought up fourth-and-3. Crawford was then stopped short of the first down, ending the drive.

A series later, Providence moved to the Bulldog 6 after a 44-yard completion from Plagenhoef to Jones. However, Gulley intercepted a Plagenhoef pass at the 2 to end
the threat.

Gulley made one last showing late in the third quarter off a Providence punt. The Bulldog star let the punt bounce a few times then decided to field it and ran off to the left side. He weaved through defenders on a 71-yard return for a score.

Providence ruined Brantley’s shutout bid midway in the fourth quarter. Backed up at the 6, Jones took a handoff up the middle, but then bounced off the stack to the outside and down the right sideline on a 94-yard scoring run.

Jones was an offensive highlight for the Eagles, rushing for 165 yards on 12 carries and also catching a pass for 44 yards.

Plagenhoef finished 6-of-14 passing for 97 yards.

Brantley added a final score on a 36-yard run by Devontray Porter in the final minute.