Sports
North Gwinnett Smothers East St. Louis
Bulldogs use stout defense to pin down Flyers in 41-0 victory.
Updated 5:48 p.m., Aug. 28, 2011
Quarterback Scotty Hosch threw four touchdown passes and North Gwinnett’s defense was stellar as the Bulldogs beat East St. Louis, Ill., 41-0 Saturday night at Tom Robinson Memorial Stadium in Suwanee.
North Gwinnett (1-1) showed no signs of a hangover from its first-week loss in the Corky Kell Classic by scoring four touchdowns in the first half and won going away.
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Hosch completed 12-of-17 passes, including TD passes to four different receivers. Chad Scott caught one of those scoring passes and also scored on a punt return.
As efficient as the offense was, the defense was even better.
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The Bulldogs' defensive effort included two goal-line stands, holding East St. Louis out of the end zone, an impressive feat against the speedy Flyers.
The defensive player of the game was Carl Rider.
"We flew around pretty good tonight on defense," said North Gwinnett head coach Bob Sphire. "We caught them off guard and maintained the pressure all night."
The Flyers had a couple of long runs negated by penalties on the opening possession of the game.
After a punt, Donnie Miles scored on a 7-yard run with 7:48 left in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0.
The Bulldogs then stopped the Flyers on a fourth-and-goal play at the 1-yard line.
Taking the ball pinned deep in their own territory, Hosch found Scott for an 84-yard reception to set up the Bulldogs in scoring position.
Hosch found Scott again for a 16-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs were ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Following another defensive stop, Scott found the end zone again. This time it was a 60-yard punt return with 8:48 remaining in the second quarter. The Bulldogs capped their first-half scoring when Hosch threw a 37-yard scoring strike to Chris Bolden.
After punting on their first drive of the second half, the Bulldogs resumed their scoring. With 6:32 left in the third quarter, Hosch found Joe Jones for a 6-yard touchdown pass.
It appeared the Flyers might get on the board late in the third. With 2:43 left, a Bulldogs fumble set the Flyers up with their second first-and-goal opportunity of the night. But the resilient Bulldogs defense would hold the line again.
Hosch found Nate Brown with 10:10 left in the game for a 60-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 41-0.
The Bulldogs play next Saturday in Carrollton against St. Augustine (Fla.).
Region 7-AAAA Standings
(Through Aug. 27, 2011)
Team All Games Region
Norcross 1-0 0-0
Collins Hill 1-0 0-0
Duluth 1-0 0-0
Mill Creek 1-0 0-0
North Gwinnett 1-1 0-0
Mountain View 0-1 0-0
Meadowcreek 0-1 0-0
Peachtree Ridge 0-1 0-0
Suwanee games-Aug. 26
Collins Hill 24, Roswell 21
Suwanee games-Aug. 27
North Gwinnett 41, East St. Louis (Ill.)
Suwanee games-Sept. 2
Collins Hill at Brookwood
Peachtree Ridge at Roswell
Suwanee games-Sept. 3
North Gwinnett-St. Augustine (Fl.) at Carrollton, 6 p.m.
