Junior Dogs Steal Overtime Thriller

In what has to be one of the most exciting games in Junior Bulldog football history, Waldron’s undefeated squad notched a monumental 16-14 overtime victory Thursday night over the host Dover Junior Pirates.

Jared Poor plowed over the right side of the line with the winning two-point conversion to give the Junior Dogs the win, moving them to 4-0 for the season. It was the first setback of the year for the Junior Pirates in what was the conference opener for both teams.

Poor had just scored on the same play moments earlier to tie the game, 14-14. Dover also scored a touchdown in the overtime period, but mishandled a handoff on the conversion try, creating the opportunity for Waldron to post the big win.

“Man, it was such a great game to be a part of,” Coach Lawson Wilkins said. “Our kids found a way to win with their backs against the wall. It was truly special. They grew up a little bit.

“This will be a big confidence boost going forward. We have Mena this week and they’re a very good team. It will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.”

The situation appeared extremely dire for the Junior Bulldogs as Dover, already holding an 8-0 lead, marched down the Waldron three-yard line midway through the final quarter. It certainly would have been hard for the Junior Dogs to come back against a two-score lead that late in the game.

But Colt Oliver forced a Junior Pirate fumble, Sebastian Self recovered, and the Dogs took over at the five-yard line with 4:58 showing on the clock. Three plays netted six yards, and Waldron was facing a fourth-and-four with the clock running down. At that point, quarterback Cole Hutchins found receiver Layden Johnson open along the right sideline. He hauled in the pass, angled across the field and traveled 63 yards before being run out of bounds at the Dover 26. 

The Junior Dogs required four plays to push across the touchdown, the score coming from two yards out by Hutchins. The crucial conversion was a successful pass from Hutchins to Johnson over the left side, making it 8-8 with about a minute left in the game.

Waldron then held Dover out of the end zone, forcing the overtime period.

Dover possessed the ball first and scored on a one-yard dive. But the mishandled snap on the conversion try left the score at 14-8. That set up the tying touchdown run and the winning conversion, both by Poor, leaving the Junior Dogs undefeated and in awesome spirits heading into the long bus ride home.

Dover took the first lead in the game on a dramatic 89-yard touchdown pass with 5:25 left in the second quarter. The Junior Pirates then tacked on the two-point conversion with a run to go up 8-0.

Waldron came right back to threaten, reaching the Dover five-yard line before being stymied by a high snap. Two more plays from scrimmage left the Junior Dogs out of the end zone and Dover then kept possession until the halftime break.

Hutchins was nine for 13 in the passing department for 135 yards and one interception. He also connected on a two-point conversion. The eighth-grade QB also ran 11 times for 51 yards.

Poor had 39 yards on seven carries, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Bentley Thompson had three catches for 28 yards. Johnson had four catches for 98 yards and ran once for 10 yards. He caught the game-tying two-point conversion.
L.J. Luster had two catches for nine yards and added 14 yards rushing.

Waldron had 249 yards of total offense. “Our defense held them to 183 yards, with 89 of them coming off one play where we got lost in coverage and it resulted in a passing touchdown,” Coach Wilkins said.