A Thursday night thriller in Calhoun, Georgia ended with the home team getting to enjoy the glory, and not the Cedartown Bulldogs as they fell 31-7 in the first loss of the 2021 season.

Game-ending fireworks were a bittersweet touch for fans and players leaving the stadium after the Sept. 23 rescheduled matchup.

Especially for a Bulldogs defense who held the Jackets to a close game in the first half, but were unable to stop a swift-moving Yellow Jackets offense from putting up two touchdowns in the second half and controlling the clock to end with a big victory.

Cedartown’s only score on the night came from quarterback Reece Tanner, who had tucked it in for a scramble on the prior play and took a big hit from a Jackets defender, who was given a targeting call and set up short yardage for another rush by Tanner for the first-quarter score.

From then on, the Jackets took control of the game. They added a field goal to take the lead on the ensuing drive, then another touchdown before the halftime buzzer and two more in the second half unanswered by the Bulldogs.

Some standout plays by the Bulldogs did give them some hope – especially a field-flipping turnover thanks to a muffed catch on a punt return in the second half – but it was too little, too late for Cedartown to make a comeback.

Cedartown finished the night with 162 all-purpose yards – 142 of those on the ground thanks to the efforts of Cedartown’s deep corp of runningbacks – compared to the 439 yards put up by Calhoun’s offense. The Bulldogs defense did force the fumble on the punt return, and also lost the ball on an interception as well.

Tanner under center finished the night 2 of 9 in passing for 20 yards.

The game – rescheduled after being called off from earlier in the month as the Bulldogs came off a 10-day suspension of football activities due to COVID-19 cases on the squad – was played on Thursday night to avoid interrupting the regular schedule of the week’s game after Cedartown was set to have a bye week before entering region play.

The Bulldogs now head into 7-AAAA on October 1 sitting at 3-1 overall on the year. They’ll travel to Pickens County for the opener in region play around Northwest Georgia.

Calhoun also celebrated alumni from their 2011 State Championship game in pre-game ceremonies, giving the home crowd an opportunity to cheer on former players who defeated Buford for the school’s first state title since 1952.

This was the 21st meeting between both teams, a rematch from last year’s home game against the Jackets who took a 14-7 victory over Cedartown. The record between the Bulldogs and Jackets now stands in Cedartown’s favor still at 17-3-1.