Week 8: Bolles 24, Raines 21 (Oct. 19)

JACKSONVILLE-With star wide receiver Austin Kirksey sidelined with a separated shoulder, Bolles needed someone else to step up and fill his shoes.   

That someone ended up being Dexter Carter Jr., son of former NFL great Dexter Carter Sr.

Carter (6 catches for 132 yards) stepped up huge for the host Bulldogs in the 24-21 District 3-4A win over visiting Raines at Hodges Field.

Facing third and goal from the five with nine seconds left, quarterback Colby Peters hit Carter on an inside slant pass in the end zone giving the Bulldogs a 24-21 lead.

A squib kick, which gave Raines possession at midfield with 3.3 seconds left, set up one last Hail Mary play.

Vikings quarterback Marvin Zanders alluded two defenders and threw a pass well short of the end zone at the 20 before being knocked down by cornerback Cody Boswell; setting off a wild celebration on the field by
Bolles players and students whom stormed the field.

The two minute comeback nearly didn’t happen.

Faced with fourth and seven with under a minute left, Carter broke free of the Vikings secondary and hauled in a 45-yard pass setting up the Bulldogs inside the ten yard line.

A pass interference call on Nigel Tribune, set the Bulldogs up inside the five. Two incomplete passes wound the clock under ten seconds.

Carter’s heroics were needed after seeing Bolles 17-14 lead with six minutes left evaporate with a Vikings clutch drive.

From their own 14, Zanders led his team down the field on a 10-play drive which resulted in an Alex Gardner 11-yard touchdown run up the middle putting the Vikings ahead 21-17 with 2:02 left.

Bolles took advantage of two costly Raines turnovers in the second half and converted both of them for scores.

After the Bulldogs tied the game at 7-7 following an Arterrious Mitchell 1-yard run late in the third quarter, Raines put together another potential scoring drive.

Three plays after the Mitchell score, Zanders hit Calvin Holmes for a 37-yard gain and Carlos Tarrats for a 24-yard gain on back-to-back plays setting the Vikings up inside the four yard line.

Zanders and tailback Keith Stallings fumbled the ball on the exchange giving the Bulldogs the ball at the nine yard line with 3:14 left in the third quarter.

Behind Peters (8 of 22 for 138 yards) and fullback/kicker Gianluca Heatherly (95 yards on 17 carries), the Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover driving the length of the field before settling for a Heatherly 24-yard field goal, giving the Bulldogs an 10-7 lead a minute into the fourth quarter.

Carter’s 25-yard completion on third and 18 helped set up the field goal.

Raines answered quickly though two plays later as Zanders connected with a wide open Tarrats at the 40-yard line and Tarrats ( 4 catches for 106 yards) outraced the Bulldog secondary 76-yards for a 14-10 lead.

Clinging to a 14-10 lead with under seven minutes left, Raines defense held the Bulldogs in check forcing another punt giving them a chance to run off clock.

Two plays later, a deflected Zanders pass at the line of scrimmage fell into the hands of lineman Greg Rogowski at the 29-yard line setting up the Bulldogs go ahead score.

Heatherly 6-yard run three plays later, gave Bolles a 17-14 lead with 5:36 left in the game.  

The second half scoring outburst was quite opposite of the stalemate first half, which saw Bolles account for just 31 total yards yet trailed only by seven.

A scoreless first half tie was broken in the final minute of the first half, after the Vikings switched to a no huddle two minute fast break offense.

Zanders (17 of 20 for 285 yards) hit a wide open Jamal Dozier for a 10-yard score giving the Vikings a 7-0 halftime lead.

Two miss field goals from Heatherly kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard also in the first half. 

Bolles (7-1, 2-0) can wrap up the 3-4A title in two weeks when they travel to Andrew Jackson, while Raines (6-1, 1-1) can wrap up the 3-4A runner-up spot Nov. 3 at home against arch-rival Ribault.