M-S Football fall to No. 7 Taylorville

BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

The Bulldogs are still searching for their first victory after falling behind at state-ranked Taylorville 30-10 on Friday before a fourth-quarter spurt created a 36-24 final.

M-S is 0-2 and returns home at 7 p.m. on Friday to play Mattoon (1-1). Taylorville is 2-0.

Clay Hubble’s 3-yard scoring run accounted for the lone M-S touchdown during the first three quarters. It also gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the season, 7-0, at the 4-minute, 7-second mark of the opening period.

Hubble was the team’s total offense leader with 159 yards, including 129 yards on 21 rushing attempts. He caught four passes for 30 yards.

Carson Thomas, who hit both extra points, connected on a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Zach Travis hauled in an 11-yard fourth-down scoring strike from Braden Finch for a Bulldog TD with 8:56 left in the game. Travis had two catches for 23 yards.

Sophomore Mitchell Gallier completed the M-S scoring, running 7 yards with a pass from Finch and reacing the end zone in the last minute for his first varsity points.

Finch connected on 7 of 15 passes for 60 yards. He also gained 86 yards on 17 running plays.

“We went on the road in a tough environment against the No. 7 ranked team in the state and competed with them through all four quarters,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “Our kids never gave up and continue to get better on a daily basis.

“Big game this Friday night at home.”

Defensively, the Bulldogs’ leaders were Hayden Nelson (nine tackles), Costen Campion (seven), Seth Buchanon (six), Thomas (six), Colton Morris (five), Skyler Yancy (four) and Noah Crowley (three).