Thursday, September 3rd- The Claiborne Middle School Bulldogs traveled to Jonesville Virginia for a Battle of the Bulldogs. The Claiborne team went into the game with 4-5 of its starters out or with limited playing time due to the flu and injuries. Claiborne took the ball and drove down into enemy Bulldog territory in the opening quarter only to throw an errant pass in the end zone for an interception after the defender had made contact with the receiver. The Bulldogs controlled the game throughout the first half and scored taking an early lead in the second quarter 6-0. Just before the half Jonesville scored on a half-back pass. After the half time break Dakota Brock suffered a leg injury that could influence the team for the rest of the season. The team tried to play through the sickness and injuries but could not keep up with Jonesville on the score board falling in the end by a score of 20-6. Head Coach Travis Bailey stated after the game, “I am just disappointed in the way we played and we have to get better even if we have to play a lot of young players. We will go right back into practice and start a new season.” The winless Bulldog team will try to do just that as they play a good Eagleton team on September 10th at 7:00. This will be the team’s second regional game and could be the game that lets the young team turn the corner on the season.