Bulldogs Secure Bye with Rout Over Ripley

In a major division matchup, the New Albany Bulldogs had their foot on the gas pedal from start to finish in a 42-0 lopsided victory over the Ripley Tigers.

The win secured the #2 seed in the division for the Bulldogs and a first-round playoff bye due to opt-outs by teams in the first-round division they match up with.

The game began with Ripley transfer quarterback Joe Mathis thowing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Knox and rushing in a score from 15 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.

C.J. Hill put his team on the board in the second quarter with an eight-yard run that sent New Albany into the locker room with a 21-0 lead.

Hill picked back up right where he left off with a huge touchdown run from 45 yards out to extend the Bulldog lead to 28-0. This led to a 21-0 margin in the third quarter for New Albany.

A.I. Nugent ran one in from four yards out, and Mathis hooked up with Knox again to cap off the dominant performance for the Bulldogs.

Coach Cody Stubblefield raved about his defense’s first shutout of the season.

“Our defense was lights out and you know, we’ve been really close to a shutout all year and finally got it tonight. Coach (Trent) Hammond, coach (Shawn) Sanks and coach (Kendall) Murphy had a great game plan together, and the kids went out and executed, played hard.”

The win takes New Albany to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in division. Ripley drops to 3-6 and 2-2 in 2020.