The Cornersville Bulldogs (3-3) picked up a much needed win on Friday night when they traveled to Columbia and defeated the Zion Christian Academy Eagles 19-6 to snap a two-game losing streak.

Cornersville got off to a promising start and grabbed a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter when quarterback Stone Riner hit wide out Tyler Lowery for a 30-yard touchdown strike on CHS' opening drive. The Bulldogs failed on the extra point attempt to keep the margin at six.

After forcing ZCA (1-4) to punt on their first drive, Cornersville lost the ball on downs at midfield on their second offensive series. The Eagles cashed in on the favorable field position, as quarterback Jarrett DeLozier completed a 14-yard TD pass to Julian Craig eight plays later to tie the game at 6-6 with :36 left in the first quarter.

Bulldog lead

Both teams came up empty on their next possession before the Bulldogs put together an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 11-yard touchdown jaunt by running back Chance Dyer to seize a 12-6 lead with 4:34 left in the second quarter. Zion Christian Academy stopped Riner short of the goal line on the two-point conversion run to keep the deficit at six.

The Eagles advanced to midfield on their ensuing possession, but Zack Welch picked off a pass by DeLozier to halt the drive.

In the second half, Cornersville forced ZCA to punt on their first offensive series before marching 56 yards to pay dirt in eight plays, punctuated by a Dyer one-yard touchdown plunge. Kyle Dickson then tacked on the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 19-6 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter.

Following a favorable exchange of punts, Zion Christian Academy had a chance to cut into the deficit when they began their third drive of the half at the CHS 44. The Eagles then picked up a first down to advance to the Cornersville 30, but the Bulldog defense bowed it's neck and limited ZCA to just seven yards on their next four plays to take over the ball on downs with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter.

No more threats

That proved to be the last serious threat that Zion Christian Academy would pose, as Dyer recovered an Eagle fumble at the Bulldog 44 midway through the fourth period before Cornersville stopped ZCA on downs on their final possession to salt away the 19-6 victory.

"This was a big win for us. It was a game that we approached as a must win game. We told the kids that it's a game that we should win. Every win is a big win right now so we're excited about that," said CHS coach John Denton. "We trying to keep our goal intact of having a non-losing season and winning a playoff game. We have some winnable games down the stretch so hopefully we can win at least two of them and make the playoffs."

After surrendering a total of 87 points in their last two outings, the Bulldogs turned in their best defensive performance of the season on Friday, as they limited the Eagles spread offense to just 116 yards from scrimmage overall, which included 63 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Craig paced ZCA's ground game with 31 yards on 10 carries, while DeLozier toted the ball nine times for 15 yards. DeLozier did complete 11-of-20 passes, but mustered only 53 yards through the air to go along with one touchdown and one interception.

Stats

Dyer led Cornersville's defense with seven tackles, while Riner and Levi Henry notched four tackles apiece. Dickson, Blake Tomlin and Justin Black each registered three tackles for the Bulldogs as well.

"We were really pleased with our defense and felt that we matched up with Zion Christian well. Having Justin Black at linebacker really helped because he used to be a defensive back," said Denton. "We didn't give up any big plays and the guys are starting to understand the system better."

CHS finished with a modest 247 yards of total offense, but committed just one turnover and were only penalized twice for 20 yards. The Bulldogs primarily kept the ball on the ground and tallied 174 yards rushing on 42 carries.

Dyer paced Cornersville's running attack with 91 yards on 20 carries, while Stone Riner toted the pigskin 14 times for 70 yards. Welch also added 12 yards rushing on four carries.

Riner completed 7-of-11 passes as well for 73 yards and a touchdown to go along with one interception. Lowery hauled in two passes for 55 yards to pace the Bulldog receiving corps, while Welch tallied two receptions for 17 yards. Black also had one catch for nine yards.

On target

"Stone threw the ball much better tonight and is growing as a quarterback. We had a lot of guys step up for us and take on bigger roles," said Denton.

Cornersville returns to action this Friday night when they go on the road to face District 11-A leader Columbia Academy. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.