Tuesday, October 6th- The Claiborne middle school Bulldogs traveled across the Powell River to do football battle with the Eagles of H.Y. Livesay. The Bulldog defense made its presence known early in the contest as a hard hit on the Eagle quarterback changed the game immediately. Even with three starters out; Neyland Bolden, Wade Williams and Austin McDaniel the Bulldogs were able to both pass and run the ball. A pass to Tristan Noe in the first quarter gave the Bulldogs their first lead. After the conversion attempt failed the score was 6-0. That score would be the only points put on the board by any team in the first half. During the first half the Bulldog coaches were happy to see an offensive line that featured four 7th graders perform well. Others that performed well were the linebacker group that included Casey Burchette, Samuel Shipley and were joined by first time starter Ricky Hatfield. During the third quarter the Bulldogs found the end zone once again this time via a running play by Dakota Brock. Paul Estep converted on the two-point conversion attempt and the Bulldogs lead moved out to 14-0. Although the fourth quarter was dominated by the Bulldog offense the score remained the same. When asked about his team’s performance Head Coach Travis Bailey said, “Our d-line came out a little sluggish early and we challenged them to do better. They answered that challenge and played much better. Offensively the line came off the ball as well as they have all year. We simply had a great team effort tonight and I am proud of our kids.” The 2-4 Bulldogs will travel to Grace Christian on the 22nd as the 2009 regular season winds down.