MONTEREY-The Clay County Bulldogs rebounded from a 10-point halftime deficit here Friday night, scoring a pair of second-half touchdowns to take a crucial 13-10 Region 4-A win over the host Wildcats.

Monterey led 7-0 with less than two minutes gone in the first quarter, taking advantage of a Bulldog fumble on a squib kick to open the game and scoring in only four plays.

The Wildcat lead increased to 10-0 on a 26-yard field goal at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter, and they seemed to be in control of the contest. Monterey had another scoring opportunity late in the half, driving to the Bulldog 10, but a last-second field goal try missed.

The Bulldogs turned the tide of the game with a defensive stop and a quick touchdown early in the third quarter. The Clay County defense stopped the Wildcats on a fourth and one at the Bulldog 38, and on the next play from scrimmage, Shawn Garrett raced 62 yards for a score for Clay County. The PAT made it 10-7.

The Bulldogs came up with another big defensive stop on the next Wildcat possession and turned it into the eventual game-winning score. Monterey was stopped on a fourth-down play from the Clay County nine, and the Bulldogs drove the length of the field to score what wound up being the deciding touchdown.

Clay County drove 90 yards in 10 plays over the rest of the third quarter and the first play of the fourth to take their first lead of the game. Key plays in the drive were 27 and 14-yard runs by Garrett and a 26-yard completion from quarterback Marshall Burch to tight end Matt Copeland. The big completion came on a third and 12 play from the Wildcat 35.

Fullback Nick Stephens scored the go-ahead touchdown on a four-yard smash at the 11:54 mark of the final period. The two-point try was no good, but the score held up to give the Bulldogs their second win of the season against no losses. Monterey is 2-1 on the season.

Get full details on the game in the September 10 print edition of the HORIZON.