No. 13 Butler holds off Hickory Ridge, grabs firm control of second place in Southwestern 4A
It wasn’t pretty at times but it was effective, as the Butler Bulldogs used their ground game to wear down the Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls in a 23-13 victory at Butler on Friday. With the win, Butler has taken sole possession of second place in the Southwestern 4A conference behind Myers Park.
In the beginning, it didn’t look good for Butler as Hickory Ridge used a no-huddle offense in the first quarter to score their first touchdown of the game, courtesy of a Kobe Clifton 25-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Christian Hamilton. However, the Bulldogs seemed to settle in as the game entered the second quarter and made the proper adjustments, according to Butler head coach Brian Hales.
“We made some mistakes on offense at the start that got us unsettled and we have to give Hickory Ridge credit, they had a great game plan coming in,” Hales said. “But our coaches made adjustments and the kids kept balling.”
One adjustment that was easy to make was riding senior running back Jamal Worthy the entire game. Worthy scored the first of his three touchdowns in the second quarter with a 1-yard leap over the pile to tie the game. Worthy added another score in the quarter, rumbling his way past shaky tackling for an 18-yard score.
Worthy scored his third in final touchdown in the fourth quarter with another 1-yard plunge to cap off a long time consuming drive. In all, Worthy finished with 200 rushing yards and those three touchdowns.
As coach Hales noted, the proper adjustments were also made on defense as Butler practically shut down the Ragin’ Bulls offense entering the second quarter. The Bulldogs provided constant pressure with a handful of sacks, and forced four turnovers (three fumbles and Jacalyn Morrison intercepted a Clifton pass). Butler even got contributions in the kicking game with a 25-yard field goal from Elijah Swett.
Nolan Carey paced the Ragin’ Bulls offense in the contest, totaling 188 scrimmage yards (128 rushing, 60 receiving) and added a late 74 yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter that pushed the game to 17-13. However, Butler milked the clock away with Worthy and made it a happy homecoming for their fans.
Coach Hales preached to his team after the victory that as the season moves on, there are two things he wants his team to focus in on.
“As the weather gets worse, we need to play defense and run the football. We talked before the game about getting ready for the playoffs and we need to play with a playoff attitude in a playoff atmosphere and that’s what we did here tonight.”
RECORDS: Butler (6-3, 4-1 Southwestern 4A), Hickory Ridge (6-3, 3-2 Southwestern 4A);
THREE WHO MATTERED
Jamal Worthy (Butler) - The senior running back ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns
Korey Hunter (Butler) - The junior defensive back recovered two of the three fumbles forced by Butler
Nolan Carey (Hickory Ridge) - The senior running back totaled 188 scrimmage yards (128 rushing/60 receiving) and added a rushing touchdown to pace the Hickory Ridge offense.
WORTH MENTIONING
Butler forced four turnovers in the game (three fumbles and an interception)
Butler’s Jamal Worthy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone
WHAT’S NEXT?
Butler will host Garinger next Friday (11/1); Hickory Ridge will host East Mecklenburg the same day.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
HR - 25 yard pass from Kobe Clifton to Christian Hamilton (PAT GOOD)
2nd Quarter
BB - 1 yard run from Jamal Worthy (PAT GOOD)
BB - 18 yard run from Jamal Worthy (PAT GOOD)
3rd Quarter
BB - 25 yard kick from Elijah Swett
4th Quarter
HR - 74 yard run from Nolan Carey (PAT NO GOOD)
BB - 1 yard run from Jamal Worthy (PAT GOOD)