After winning their final three regular season games to grab a spot in the Class A playoffs, the Cornersville Bulldogs (6-5) were unable to carry that momentum into the postseason, as they were defeated 49-14 in the first round by the Wayne County Wildcats on Friday night in Waynesboro.

Having beaten Wayne County 21-18 last year, the Bulldogs hung tough early on and trailed just 6-0 late in the second quarter, but the Wildcats (7-4) scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 2:18 left in the first half to stretch their lead to 14-0.

Quick surge

Wayne County then blew the game open by notching TDs on three of their first four possessions of the second half to forge a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter before coasting to the 35-point victory.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Cornersville coach John Denton believes his program made strides after the Bulldogs qualified for the playoffs for the first time in three years.

"I think we changed the culture here and learned how to prepare. I think these seniors legacy will be that they taught the younger kids how to get ready for a game," said Denton. "I told the guys how proud I was of them after the game. I think we're on the right track. We still had a winning season and that was one of our goals."

CHS had averaged nearly 36 points per game in their previous four contests, but mustered just 236 yards from scrimmage in Friday's contest, which included 123 yards rushing on 29 carries. Cornersville also committed two turnovers and were stopped on downs three times inside Wayne County's 25-yard line after putting together extended drives.

Wearing down

"I felt we moved the ball well at times, but we just couldn't convert. As the game wore on they gained control of the line of scrimmage. They didn't have a lot of guys playing both ways and we started to wear down in the second half," said Denton.

After racking up over 350 all-purpose yards in each of the Bulldogs' last four contests, senior quarterback Stone Riner nearly eclipsed that mark again despite the best efforts of the Wildcats. Riner returned three kickoffs for 113 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 110 yards and a TD on 22 carries, and completed 10-of-25 passes for 113 yards to go along with two interceptions.

Tyler Lowery paced CHS' receiving corps with four catches for 24 yards, while Devante Spencer hauled in two passes for 21 yards. Zack Welch and Jody Sullivan each had one catch for 39 and 28 yards respectively.

With Cornersville trying to play catch up in the second half, tailback Chance Dyer toted the ball just six times for 17 yards.

Larger line

The Wildcats successfully exploited their size advantage upfront and churned out 384 yards rushing on 47 carries en route to rolling up 448 yards of total offense overall.

Tailback Jacob Bevis spearheaded Wayne County's punishing ground attack by toting the ball 21 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Preston Rice also tallied 115 yards and a TD on 11 carries, while fullback Logan Cole added 59 yards on seven carries. Tony VanEtten rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on four carries as well.

Rice had mixed results throwing the ball and completed 3-of-6 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown while tossing two interceptions.

Dyer led Cornersville's defense with 10 tackles from his middle linebacker position. Sullivan and Lowery notched seven tackles apiece as well and Spencer recorded six tackles and two interceptions. Kyle Dickson, Welch, and Levi Henry also tallied five tackles apiece for the Bulldogs, while Ivan Gutierrez recovered a fumble.

Close but no score

CHS advanced from their own 35 to the Wayne County 12 with the help of a pair of seven-yard runs by Riner, a Sullivan 28-yard catch, and an eight-yard jaunt by Dyer, but were unable to punch the ball into the end zone and lost the ball on downs after picking up only seven yards on their next four plays.

The Wildcats marched to the Cornersville 31 on their opening possession, before Gutierrez halted the Wayne County drive by recovering a fumble by Rice at the 35-yard line.

Wayne County then forced a Bulldog punt before putting together a seven-play, 74-yard scoring drive that was capped by a Bevis two-yard touchdown run to take a 6-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter. Welch stopped Bevis short of the goal line on the two-point conversion run to keep the deficit at six.

Both teams lost the ball on downs on their next offensive series before Cornersville went three and out on their fourth possession and punted the ball away.

Wildcats score

The Wildcats found the end zone a few moments later when Rice hit a wide open Keeton Kelly for a 48-yard touchdown strike after one of the referee's accidently ran into the Bulldog defensive back that was covering Kelly on the play. Rice then ran in the two-point conversion to extend Wayne County's lead to 14-0 late in the half.

After Cornersville came up empty on their final two possessions of the first half, the Wildcats extended their lead to 22-0 early in the third quarter when Bevis scored on a 19-yard TD scamper before Rice found Ian Powell in the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt.

Facing a three-score deficit, the Bulldogs were forced to roll the dice on their next possession and ended up losing the ball on downs at their own 37 after Riner threw an incomplete pass on a 4th and 2 play.

Wayne County cashed in on the good field position and extended their lead to 29-0 five plays later when Bevis raced into the end zone from nine yards out while Jake Sinclair tacked on the extra point.

The Bulldogs engineered another extended drive on their ensuing offensive series, but ended up losing the ball on downs at the Wildcat 17.

After Spencer intercepted a pass by Rice, Kelly picked off Riner on the very next play to set up Wayne County at the CHS 49. Rice then scored on a 10-yard touchdown run four plays later to make it 35-0 with 1:49 left in the third quarter.

Bulldogs score

The Bulldogs spoiled Wayne County's shut bid on their next possession when Riner raced into the corner of the corner of the end zone from four yards out after Welch caught a 39-yard pass two plays earlier. Lowery then hauled in the two-point conversion pass from Riner to trim the deficit to 35-8 early in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats continued to pour it on and extended their lead to 42-8 on a 13-yard TD run by VanEtten before Wayne County defensive lineman Chea Brantley intercepted a screen pass by Riner and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to make it 49-8 with 1:35 left.

Riner managed to end his CHS career on a proper note when he weaved his way for an 80-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff for the 49-14 final.