The Class A seventh-ranked Cornersville Bulldogs rolled into Huntland Friday night and didn’t miss a beat, pounding the Hornets 38-8 to add another win to their school record 8-1 mark.

“The guys’ effort for most of the game was at a high level, it was much better in the second half than in the first half,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “We had several mental mistakes as far as what to do on offense and defense. During halftime we were able to correct some things and make the necessary adjustments to finish the game on a good note.”

The Region 5A champion Bulldogs, who played without the services of quarterback Eli Woodard and all-purpose player Kolbe McMahon, also posted their first ever unbeaten region record with the win.

Junior running back Cameron Whitaker picked up the slack of his missing comrades, rushing for a career high 297 yards and five touchdowns, plus an interception on defense and a 26-yard punt return.

“Cameron stepped up in a big way for us this past Friday night, I was so proud of how hard he ran the ball and kept this team in contention all night,” Randolph said. “It was really good to see Cameron have this signature game.”

“He deserved it so much, because he works really hard each and every Friday night. He will tell you that none of this would have been possible without the blocking of his teammates throughout the night.”

Cornersville rushed for 383 yards in the game and did not throw a pass the entire contest.

They also played an error free game, winning the turnover battle 4-0 over the Hornets.

“We are a team that wants to create turnovers on defense and eliminate turnovers offensively,” Randolph stressed. “If you hear me on the sideline, I'm really stressing take care of the football to our football team. We put a big emphasis on taking care of the football, because turnovers will get you beat quicker than anything.”

Whitaker opened the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run before Trenten Warren added a 3-yard TD burst in the first quarter to give the visiting Bulldogs a 12-0 lead.

Whitaker scored on a 6-yard scamper in the second quarter before Huntland got its only touchdown of the game on an Alex Simmons 2-yard run and Kolbi Stewart tossed the 2-point conversion pass to Christopher Schultz to make it a 20-8 contest at the half.

Whitaker scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground from 57 and three yards out in the third quarter to put the game away as the Bulldogs led 31-8, entering the fourth quarter.

“Our coaching staff did an outstanding job of making the adjustments at halftime and getting guys into position to be successful,” Randolph said “The guys did an awesome job of going out and giving great effort and competing at a high level.”

Whitaker capped off the win with a 59-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs have one regular season remaining as they travel to Smyrna Friday night to play the Lancaster Christian Academy Knights and the Dawgs want that ninth win very badly.

“The guys want it bad,” Randolph said. “They have had a ton to play for this year, and it has been an awesome feeling so far this year. We want to continue this success.”

Cornersville is the top seed heading into the playoffs and will have home field advantage at Frog Bottom for the first three rounds of the playoffs that begin on Friday, November 3.

“The guys are enjoying the winning,” Randolph stated. “We want to continue the winning ways and keep this momentum going. I am very proud of how hard they have worked so far this year.”

Cornersville 12 6 13 7-38

Huntland 0 8 0 0-8

Scoring

First Quarter

Cornersville-Cameron Whitaker 75-yard run (PAT NG).

Cornersville-Trenten Warren 3-yard run (PAT run NG).

Second Quarter

Cornersville-Whitaker 6-yard run (PAT pass NG)

Huntland-Alex Simmons 2-yard run (Two point conversion pass by Kolbi Stewart to Christopher Schultz).

Third Quarter

Cornersville-Whitaker 57-yard run (Adam Qualls PAT).

Cornersville-Whitaker 3-yard run (PAT NG)

Fourth Quarter

Cornersville-Whitaker 59-yard run (Qualls PAT)

Total Offense-Cornersville 383, Huntland 265

Rushing-Cornersville 383, Huntland 225

Passing-Cornersville 0, Huntland 40

First Downs-Cornersville 16, Huntland 21

Turnovers-Cornersville 0, Huntland 4

Penalties-Cornersville 7-75, Huntland 3-25

Cornersville Offense

Rushing-Cameron Whitaker 18-297-5TD, Trenten Warren 6-50-TD, Darien Bush 10-38, Brady Calahan 4-5, Henlee Mitchell 4-5, Alex Hillard 1-(-12)

Returns

Kickoffs- Devin Massengill 1-0

Punts- Cameron Whitaker 1-26

Kicking

PAR-Adam Qualls 2-4

Punting-Ryan Prosser 3-93

Defense

Tackles- Trenten Warren 9.5, C.J. Coble 7.5, Brock Powers 7.5 (SACK), Blake Pickett 6.5 (SACK, INT), Brice Dunkleman 3.5, Darien Bush 3.5, Houston Williams 2, Ethan Courtemanche 2, Cameron Whitaker 1.5 (INT), Brady Calahan 1, Michael Bungay 1, T.J Robinson 1, Wes Calahan 1, Devin Massengill .5