Bobcats blast CMS Bulldogs

The Cornersville Middle School Bulldogs (0-5) are still searching for their first win of the season after suffering a lopsided 43-5 loss to the Bridgeforth Bobcats in Pulaski.

Cornersville had put up a tough fight in the previous meeting between the two teams on Oct. 23 before eventually falling 35-27 to the Bobcats.

The Bulldogs, however, ran into a buzz saw in Tuesday's contest, as the Bobcats built a 19-3 lead in the first half prior to opening up a 23-3 advantage early in the second quarter.

Following an offensive put back by Ty Landers, which trimmed the deficit to 23-5 midway through the third quarter, Cornersville began to clear their bench shortly after that point and Bridgeforth closed the game with a 20-0 run to roll to the 38-point victory.

Aided by a 7-of-12 shooting performance in the third period, the Bobcats finished with a 20-2 edge in field goals and held a 2-1 advantage in three-pointers. Bridgeforth also outrebounded the Bulldogs 31-14, held a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass, and forced 23 CMS turnovers while committing just nine miscues themselves.

"Turnovers hurt us and we didn't hustle. We didn't play with any heart. That's why I put my younger guys in early in the second half. We played like we were scared tonight. We're just not a good road team right now," said Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph. "We actually had some new schemes for their 2-3 zone that should have given us some good shots, but we just didn't execute."

Power forward Jordan Gilbert led the Bobcats with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with four rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. Brandon Rowan followed Gilbert with seven points, seven rebounds, and five steals, and Trent Burns added six points. Aspen Bush and Stephen Wade tallied four points apiece for Bridgeforth as well, while Arthur Braden and Brice Carvell chipped in three and two points respectively.

Kolbe McMahon paced the Bulldogs with three points, and Landers finished with two points and three blocked shots.