Butler does it. Bulldogs top Hickory Ridge in first round of NCHSAA football playoffs
Butler’s two most important drives Friday night might have been the ones that didn’t produce any points.
The Bulldogs ran off big chunks of the clock in the fourth quarter with their two non-scoring drives and held off visiting Hickory Ridge 28-21 in a first-round 4A playoff game.
Butler (9-2) broke a 14-14 halftime tie with two touchdowns in the third quarter. Then, after forcing the Ragin’ Bulls (6-5) to punt, Butler ran six minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Running back D.J. Horton repeatedly gashed the Hickory Ridge line, as Butler marched from its 27 to the Bulls’ 14. The drive stalled there, and Hickory Ridge pushed 86 yards and scored on a Jordan Wilkes 1-yard run with 1:58 to play.
The Bulls tried an onside kick, but Butler’s Makhi Carr fell on the ball near midfield.
The Bulldogs went back to their ground game, and Horton clinched the victory when he ran 8 yards for a first down with 55 seconds remaining.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Butler head coach Brian Hales said. “But in the playoffs, the idea is to win and advance.”
Horton scored both of his team’s third-quarter touchdowns, on a 5-yard pass from Zach Lawrence and then on a 41-yard run.
Horton also scored on a short run in the first quarter.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Game Summary
Hickory Ridge 7 7 0 7 – 21
Butler 14 0 14 0 – 28
HR – Jordan Wilkes 3 run (Brandon Bowman kick)
B – D.J. Horton 1 run (Nick Konieczysnki kick)
B – Nathan Rankin 21 pass from Zach Lawrence (Konieczynski kick)
HR – Caden Haywood 11 run (Bowman kick)
B – Horton 5 pass from Lawrence (Konieczynski kick)
B – Horton 41 run (Konieczynski kick)
HR – Wilkes 1 run (Bowman kick)
PHOTOS: HIckory Ridge at Butler
