Moore, Bearcats run over Senators, win 24-14

Senior running back touches ball 33 times, accounts for 309 yards of offense

By Justin Graves The Cullman Times

HARVEST — Drenched in sweat, Ben Moore stood on the field and mapped out his plans for the evening.Or better yet, his plan. “My bed is waiting on me at home, and I’m definitely going to sleep good tonight,” the Cullman High running back said.Moore shouldn’t have had any trouble following through on his plan. Not after the workload he carried in eighth-ranked (5A) Cullman’s 24-14 win at Sparkman Friday night.Moore touched the ball 33 times, accounting for 309 yards of total offense.And most of that was on the ground.
Behind a solid performance by Cullman’s veteran offensive line — which returned three starters — Moore pounded out 226 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rushing attempts.
“I’m not surprised that we were able to run the ball like that,” Moore said. “Our line, all through fall practice, they’ve looked really good. And tonight they were doing nothing but blowing people off the ball. That makes my job pretty easy.” Moore’s rushing performance left Bearcats coach Mark Britton impressed.
“Boy, our offensive line really stepped up in there,” Britton said. “And Ben Moore, any time he touches the ball, he’s a threat.
“Tonight he showed that he can be that power back, nickling and diming people until he gets a chance to get loose and break a couple of arm tackles and break that big run.”
Moore did most of his damage in the second half, rushing for 152 yards and two scores on 17 carries.
His first touchdown, which came late in the third quarter on a 1-yard run, gave Cullman a 17-7 lead.
Sparkman answered early in the fourth quarter when star running back LaQuince Love capped off a long scoring drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.
But Moore immediately went back to work. The Cullman senior responded with a 39-yard touchdown that gave the Bearcats a 10-point cushion with 4:55 remaining in regulation.
“I think we made a statement, showed we can line up and run the ball against the best of them,” Moore said. “Getting a win against a talented team like this, it’s huge because it sets the tone for the season … it really helps build our confidence.”
Cullman rolled up yards on the ground with its ball-control offense. Sparkman wasn’t as fortunate against a stingy Bearcats defense.
The Bearcats’ defense held Sparkman to just 215 total yards and one touchdown The Senators scored their other touchdown on a kickoff return.
Cullman’s defense also forced three turnovers and scored a touchdown of its own — linebacker Luke Bright returned a fumble 65 yards for a score in the first quarter.
Cole Kelley and Tyler Brown also finished with one interception each.
Sparkman only managed 168 yards on the ground against a Cullman defense that features five new linebackers, and the Bearcats held Love to 127 yards on 21 carries.

“I thought our defense did a great job,” Britton said. “(Love) was a great running back. We were really worried about him, and he just seems to get stronger as the game goes on. But I thought our guys did a really good job. It was something to build on.”
Kelley said the defensive performance was a confidence-builder for a unit that has so many new faces.
“I think we answered some questions tonight,” the senior linebacker said. “It shows that we’ve been able to fill some of the gaps that were left behind by all those good seniors from last season.”

This file was created with Fixed It! Football ScoreBook on 8/30/2010 at 21:46:17