The Cedartown Bulldogs finally got their first win of the season on Friday night in a 24-0 shutout over non-region foe New Manchester and moved to 1-2 on the year.

Bulldogs head coach Jamie Abrams said after the win that he saw the Bulldogs get better in their third game of the season.

“Offensively, we had some young guys step up and play some valuable minutes that haven’t been playing a whole bunch,” Abrams said. “I’m very proud of the offense. And the defense did an excellent job, especially right before the half. It’s big right before the half when they’re (New Manchester) are down inside the 20-yard line and don’t give up points right before the half and don’t give them momentum, I thought was huge.”

After putting up a field goal in the first quarter, Harlem Diamond was one of those young offensive players given a chance to show out as he put a touchdown on the board with 11:16 left in the half. After holding New Manchester to no points at half, Patrick Gardner ran in a third quarter touchdown and Xavier Hargrove ran in the final score in the fourth.

The Bulldogs ended the night with 204 yards on offense on the ground in the 24-point victory.

Want to watch the tape of this one? Find the livestream of the game from WGAA here.

Key takeaways from the game

It is clear that Cedartown’s defense is a force to be reckoned with when region play starts in a couple of weeks. The Bulldogs held New Manchester’s offense that scored 105 points over three games to no points and 57 yards in total on the night.

Younger players are also getting the chance to show off their talent earlier in the season. Diamond, Hargrove and Gardner are all names to be on the lookout for in the coming weeks as ways to get around defenses keying in on CJ Washington and Jayden Johnson when the Bulldogs establish their ground game.

The health of the team is still in limbo, a fact that Abrams knows all too well. Following the game, he told WGAA’s Andrew Carter that “it is disappointing that we aren’t at full speed” but that he was hopeful to have players sidelined by injuries back on the field soon.

Of note, this is Abrams first win of his career leading the Bulldogs.

Up Next

The Cedartown Bulldogs return home on October 2 (next Friday) to host Heard County in their final non-region game before getting into 7-AAAA play. They’ll open against Pickens on Sept. 16.