Wildcats turn the tables on Friday the 13th

North Dekalb Stadium - Chamblee, GA

Dunwoody's defense stepped up when they needed to.

Friday the 13^th.  For the superstitious, the date signifies bad things.  On a cold October night, this Friday the 13^th would have an altogether different meaning for the Dunwoody Wildcats.  But there must have been ladders and black cats throughout Chamblee High School because for the Bulldogs, it would signify bad things.  Very bad things.

It’s been whispered throughout the season.  Chamblee’s undefeated but....”all they have is Roddy Jones” or “they really haven’t played anyone yet”.  Well it was time to show and prove as Dunwoody invited the Bulldogs to their homecoming party for a Friday the 13^th, inter-regional showdown. 

In every game this season, senior RB Roddy Jones has done all of his damage in the first half and would be a spectator in the second.  Not tonight.   Jones would have to be on the field all night.  Jones broke loose for two scores in the first half and sophomore QB Warren Norman added some great runs on quarterback keepers.  Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, even though their ground game was working, they found themselves even with the Wildcats at the end of the first half, 13-13.

The second half would generate the overly-used “tale of two halves” phrase in a sense.  This half would be all defense.  The Bulldogs tried to continue to ride the back of Jones but the Wildcats would have none of that.  Even though Jones finished with 184 yards, which put him over 1,000 yards for the season, and two scores, Dunwoody’s defense was stalwart in stopping Jones whenever he seemed primed for a big gain.  Pads were popping.  And the Bulldogs felt the pain. 

Dunwoody’s offense couldn’t break into the endzone either but they got close enough for a field goal.  Good play calling by head coach James Teter helped QB Jeron Sykes get out of the pocket to make throws on the run or take it up field.  Either way, it worked.  With 7:56 left in the third quarter, the Wildcats went up for good off of the foot of K Eric Rojas.  The Wildcat “D”, led by sophomore LB Jerry King, did the rest, while the offense consumed the time in the second half and nursed a three point lead the rest of the way home. 

The most decisive point of the game came with 3:28 left in the contest and Chamblee at the Wildcat 16-yard line.  The Bulldogs faced a fourth down with three yards to go.  In what would be a gusty call by head coach Brent Miller, Chamblee went for the first down instead of taking the three and going for overtime. 

DB Marcel Bouie gets the crowd going after their big win.

Needless to say, they came up short.  Instead of going with their workhorse, Norman took the ball on a quarterback keeper to the outside but he hit a Wildcat wall that would not budge. 

As the seconds ticked away, the chants and cheers began as Dunwoody handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.  One Chamblee coach said to me as I was leaving the field, “They’ve been saying they were going to beat us all year.”  Well, coach, guess what?  They did.  On their homecoming at that.  Wow.

Final Score:  Dunwoody 16 – Chamblee 13