When you are facing off against the No. 2-ranked team in the state, you have to bring one of your best games to come away with a win.
For the W.S. Neal Eagles Friday night against the class 4A’s No. 2-ranked UMS-Wright Bulldogs, playing their best game did not happen as the Eagles made three turnovers in the first half and suffered a 38-16 loss. The loss dropped the Eagles of East Brewton to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in region play. It was the second straight loss of the season after falling two weeks ago to Clarke County in Grove Hill.
UMS-Wright picked off two W.S. Neal passes and a W.S. Neal fumble to race out to an early 21-0 lead after one quarter of play.
UMS then outscored the Eagles 14-0 in the second quarter to build a 35-0 lead.
W.S. Neal held UMS to a field goal in the third quarter to fall behind 38-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Just when it looked like W.S. Neal would be shut out for their second straight game, the Eagles scored the final 16 points of the game, but suffered the loss by 22 points.
Trey Taylor got W.S. Neal on the board with 4:55 left in the game as he scored on a 1-yard run.
Malcolm Hawthorne added the final score of the night as he ran in from 23 yards out with 1:01 left in the game.
“UMS-Wright is a very good football team,” W.S. Neal head coach Doug Hoehn said. “They were tough for us to deal with. Our kids played hard. We made mistakes in the first half that hurt us. Three turnovers led to 21 points for them. We played much better in the second half. We just have to play four solid quarters of football.”
W.S. Neal will host Calhoun next Friday for homecoming.
See Wednesday’s paper for a complete game recap from Friday’s loss to UMS-Wright along with a preview of the Calhoun game.