Central Tigers Defeat Gleason Bulldogs

One thing inexperienced teams have to figure out is how not to give up the big play.

That was a struggle for the Gleason football team on Friday as Bruceton made big plays throughout the game to pull away for a 34-12 win to beat the Bulldogs in Week 2 action.

Gleason (0-2) hosts Obion County on Friday night in non-region action of Week 3.

The Bulldogs worked to contain Bruceton, but then a big play came. The Tigers scored on a 69-yard touchdown pass, an 87-yard touchdown run, and a 68-yard touchdown run in the first half for the 21-0 lead.

Gleason had a couple of big plays on defense when Andrew Bruce sacked the quarterback for an 11-yard loss and Conner Ballew sacked the quarterback for a six-yard loss.

Bruceton had 215 yards of offense, with 224 yards coming on the three touchdown plays. Gleason had 57 yards of offense in the first half.

The Tigers scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half to take a 27-0 lead.

Gleason bounced back with a 12-play, 84-yard drive. Freshman Joey Vargas scored Gleason’s first touchdown of the season on a three-yard run with 5:08 left in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 27-6. 

Bruceton got one more touchdown with 9:14 to play in the game on a 35-yard pass to take a 34-6 lead.

But with 3.4 seconds remaining, Sawyer Lampkins connected with Cooper Sawyers for a 59-yard touchdown pass for Gleason’s second score.

Gleason bounced back in the second half with 152 yards off offense for a total of 209 yards in the game.

Bruceton had 345 yards of offense with 178 rushing and 167 passing.

Kaylor Pineda had 55 yards rushing on 20 carries, while Sawyers had 53 yards rushing on 14 carries. Sawyers also had the 59-yard catch.

James Flaurr had three catches for 27 yards.