The Tigers (2-1, 1-1) of Mt. Pleasant High School invaded Frog Bottom on a comfortable late summer evening to face the Cornersville Bulldogs (2-2, 1-0) in a vital Region 5A battle.

The Bulldogs, trying to push their winning streak to three games, showed a balanced offense and a stifling defense that shut down the Tigers 20-0.

Cornersville rushed for 144 yards on 34 attempts and QB Jackson Farler completed 11-of-14 throws for 161 yards and one touchdown.

The defense, with Cason Warner (5 tackles) and Michael Bungay (3.5 tackles) leading the way, limited the Tigers to 94 yards rushing and 42 yards passing while stuffing Mt. Pleasant three times on fourth down plays.

“The players did a great job, they played their responsibilities just like we (coaches) asked them to do,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “We knew to be successful tonight against a big play offense we had to take away those big plays and we did. We also held up great against their running game.”

Penalties and mistakes haunted both teams with the Bulldogs suffering less in the victory.

The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, sending the opening kickoff to Mt. Pleasant’s Za Williams, who returned the kick to the 34-yard line.

On a second down play, running back A.J. Busby carried the ball to the Mt. Pleasant 46-yard line for a first down.

The Tigers stayed on the ground, rushing the ball downfield until on a third-and-six play from the Bulldog 31-yard line where Jeremiah Dobbins fumbled the ball and Bungay recovered at the 27-yard line.

The Bulldogs began their first possession with multiple runs by Brady Calahan and faced third-and-five when Jackson Farler found Tanner Edwards for a nine-yard pass reception and a first down.

The Tigers held the Bulldogs on the next two plays and on another third down play, Farler found Eli Welch open and the Bulldog tight end rambled 54 yards to the Mt. Pleasant 6-yard line.

A horse collar penalty on the Tigers placed the ball at the three where Brady Calahan bulled his way over for the score.

Jackson Williams booted the extra point through the uprights and Cornersville led 7-0 at the 3:41 mark of the first quarter.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers started at their own 32-yard line again and went to the running game, moving to the Cornersville 47-yard line, but quarterback Hayden Lovely attempted a pass that was intercepted by Cameron Estes, who ran it down to the Mt. Pleasant 16-yard line on the last play of the quarter.

The first quarter ended with the Bulldogs on top 7- 0.

The Dawgs started the second quarter with runs by Farlar and Brady Calahan, moving the ball to the Mt. Pleasant 8-yard line.

Farler then found Welch in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown catch.

William’s kick was true and the Bulldogs led 14-0.

The Tigers could do little as Cason Warner, Estes, Tracy Wood, Dylan Baus, and the rest of the Bulldog defense stood strong.

On fourth-and-one, the defense held Lovely for no gain and the Bulldogs took over at their own 47-yard line.

The Dawgs executed two short runs then Farler struck again, firing a pass to Alex Hillard down the left side for 41 yards to the Mt. Pleasant 10-yard line.

From there Warner rumbled over the goal line for the touchdown.

A bad snap prevented Williams from making the extra point and with 6:23 left in the second quarter the Bulldogs were up 20-0.

The Tigers started its next drive from their own 38-yard line, but Lovely misfired on three straight passes, forcing another Busby punt.

Houston Williams managed to get a hand on the ball and it rolled out of bounds at the Cornersville 43-yard line.

On first down, Farler’s pass to Hillard was good for a TD, but a block in the back penalty brought it back to the 35-yard line.

After another first down, a personal foul pushed the ball back and Estes punted the ball away.

The Tigers took over and moved the ball down the field to the Bulldog 36-yard line where on fourth-and-nine, Warner made the stop on Lovely and the Tigers turned the ball over on downs.

The Bulldogs could not gather any momentum as penalties hindered the offense and the half came to a close with Cornersville leading 20-0.

The Bulldogs took the kickoff to begin the third quarter and went on an eight-play drive, featuring runs by Warner, Hillard, and Brady Calahan, along with Farler passes to Edwards and Brady Calahan.

At the 7:44 mark, Farlar was stopped for no gain at the Mt. Pleasant 27-yard line and the ball came loose and the Tigers took over.

The defense came up strong and stopped the Tigers again, forcing a punt that the Bulldogs took to the 41-yard line, but a personal foul moved the ball back to the 26-yard line.

The Bulldogs moved down field, but penalties dogged them and on a fourth-and-eight from Mt. Pleasant’s 24-yard line, Farler’s pass in the flat to Calahan was stopped for no gain and the Tigers took over.

The Bulldog defense was still howling and the Tigers were forced to a three-and-out and punted.

The third quarter ended with Cornersville at the Tigers’ 36-yard line.

The fourth quarter started with two Farler incompletions and Estes punting the ball to the Tiger 5-yard line.

The Tigers went on a six-play drive, making one first down before stalling on their own 34-yard line with Busby punted to the Cornersville 41-yard line.

The Bulldogs were content to run the ball to eat up the clock with Warner and Calahan ripping off chunks of yards.

On the final play of the game, Brady Calahan ran the ball to the Tiger one-yard line where time expired.

“They play really aggressive, but that’s part of football. We play with a lot of heart and we want it, I believe we wanted it more than they did,” said Brady Calahan.

The number-eight ranked Bulldogs host DII Middle Tennessee Christian School (1-4, 1-2) Friday night with kickoff at Frog Bottom scheduled for 7 p.m.

Mt. Pleasant 0 0 0 0-0

Cornersville 7 13 0 0-20

Scoring

First Quarter

Cornersville-Brady Calahan 3-yard run, Jackson Williams PAT, 3:41.

Second Quarter

Cornersville-Eli Welch 8-yard pass from Jackson Farler, Jackson Williams PAT, 10:59.

Cornersville-Cason Warner 1-yard run, PAT NG, 6:23.

Total Yards: Mt. Pleasant 136, Cornersville 305.

Rushing: Mt. Pleasant 94, Cornersville 144.

Passing: Mt. Pleasant 42, Cornersville 161.

First Downs: Mt. Pleasant 7, Cornersville 15.

Turnovers: Mt. Pleasant 2, Cornersville 1.

Penalties: Mt. Pleasant 8-90, Cornersville 6-70.

Cornersville Offense

Rushing: Brady Calahan 13-66-TD, Cason Warner 8-41-TD, Alex Hillard 2-15, Jackson Farler 6-9, Wes Calahan 2-8, Rhett Woodard 3-5.

Passing: Jackson Farler 11-14-161-TD.

Receiving: Eli Welch 3-75-TD, Hillard 1-41, Tanner Edwards 4-25, Wes Calahan 1-17, Brady Calahan 2-3.

Kicking

PAT: Jackson Williams 2-3.

Punting: Cameron Estes 2-56.

Returns

Kickoffs: Alex Hillard 1-37.

Punts: Brady Calahan 1-3, Jackson Farler 1-0.

Defense

Tackles: Cason Warner 5, Michael Bungay 3.5, Cameron Estes 3 (INT), Tracy Wood 3 (TFL), Rhett Woodard 2.5, Bryson Alexander 2, Devon Massengill 2 (TFL), Jackson Mitchell 2, Dylan Baus 1.5, Alex Hillard 1, Houston Williams 1, Hunter Fitzgerald .5, Blake Jones .5, Trenton Posey .5.

Region 5A Standings

Fayetteville City 5-0, 3-0

Cornersville 3-2, 2-0

Mt. Pleasant 2-2, 1-2

Richland 3-3, 0-1

Huntland 2-3, 0-1

Moore County 2-3, 0-2