Bainbridge coach Jeff Littleton said he talked about executing the game plan, focusing and finishing this week with the Bearcats, and he saw his team do just that as they soared to a 34-7 win over the Monroe Tornadoes Friday in Albany.
Junior quarterback Brett McLaughlin was 21-for-31 passing with 246 yards and three touchdown throws. Receivers Zyon McGee and Russell Wheeler had two and one touchdown respectively to carry the bulk of Bainbridge’s scoring.
“We knew we were going to have to throw the ball against them,” Littleton said. “They are very good at stopping the run. We started out throwing the ball horizontally to the sidelines, trying to make them run and gas them a little bit. We did that and we wore them down in the second half.”
Both Bainbridge (3-0) and Monroe (2-1) amounted nothing on their first drives. On Bainbridge’s second series, McLaughlin connected with McGee for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the score at 7-0.
The Bearcats held Monroe to a three-and-out on the next series and came back to score again. McLaughlin found McGee for their second touchdown pass, a 47-yarder that moved the score to 14-0.
“I was on the way to the end zone, and I had to keep running as fast as I could,” McGee said.
Monroe scored next on a 28-yard pass play with 4:23 left in the second quarter.
Bainbridge bounced back with another touchdown, an 18-yard pass play from McLaughlin to tight end Russell Wheeler to move the score to 21-0.
“We started to drive down the field really methodically, had a couple big plays,” Wheeler said about the Bearcats first half. “I was ecstatic, it was great to make a move and get off that guy and walk across that line.”
At the end of the first half, kicker Evan Oldaker nailed an 18-yard field goal to move the score to 24-7. Oldaker returned again with a 34-yarder at the start of the fourth quarter, and the score was 27-7.
Sophomore running back Dameon Pierce had 96-yards on 20 carries and a touchdown with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter to make the score 34-7.
You got to credit Monroe,” Littleton said. “Their defense is tough. They’re putting seven or eight people in the box.”
The Bearcats return home next week to host rival Thomas County Central. Littleton said he was proud of the fan turnout so far this season and hoped to see a big crowd next Friday.
“Just show up and be loud, like they’ve been doing,” Littleton said.