By Michael Lindsay
The Red Boiling Springs Bulldogs closed out the 2023 regular season on a high note Thursday as they overcame a 10-point deficit to win at Jo Byrns, 27-24.
The win over the Red Devils is the first in program history. The Bulldogs also wrapped up the second-most regular season wins in school history as they closed out regular season play at 5-5 overall.
“We came in with that mindset tonight; that we’re going to make history,” said RBS head coach Sean Link. “We wanted our guys to perform well and they did. I’m so proud of them.”
RBS was led by senior quarterback Aubrey Link as he rushed for three touchdowns and threw for one more in the victory.
Red Boiling Springs’ defense forced a 3-and-out on the game’s opening possession followed by the Bulldogs scoring on their first offensive drive. Running back Tyler Lancaster led the Bulldogs down the field before Link punched in a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:25 left in the first period to give RBS a 6-0 lead.
“Tyler did an excellent job,” said coach Link. “We knew they were covering our receivers hard because we’re a predominantly passing team. We knew we could sneak him out of the backfield some, and he did awesome.”
Jo Byrns responded as running back Amari Cotton scored back-to-back touchdowns to give the Red Devils a 16-6 lead at halftime.
“During warmups we were kind of dead; I don’t know if it was the long bus ride up or what,” coach Link said. “We executed well on offense to begin with, then we went into this kind of slumber mode. Once we got them in at halftime, we got some response out of them and they came out and played superb.”
The Bulldogs pulled back within a possession midway through the third quarter as Link hit Joseph Birdwell on a 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. Following the PAT, Red Boiling Springs trailed 16-13 with 7:42 left in the third quarter.
“Joseph has been there all year long and when we need something,” coach Link said. “He’s the guy we look to.”
The back-and-forth second half was only beginning as Jo Byrns fumbled on their ensuing possession to set up another RBS score.
“A lot of times with young and inexperienced players, they do a scripted offense or defense,” coach Link said. “We’ve been working on being able to read what the other team gives you and making a play. We’re looking for playmakers; you have to make the play they don’t expect you to make.”
Link punched in a short touchdown run with 2:23 left in the third period to give RBS a 20-16 lead.
Jo Byrns responded with a 49-yard touchdown run by Cotton less than 2 minutes later to take a 24-20 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Red Boiling Springs responded as they marched down the field and found the end zone on a 2-yard Link rush with 8:04 remaining to retake the lead at 27-24.
Jo Byrns threatened late as the Red Devils drove to the Red Boiling Springs 5-yard line with less than 1 minute remaining.
“We had struggled for three weeks on defense,” coach Link said. “We started doing a much better job. Amari Cotton exposed some of the stuff we’ve had issues with. I’m just glad on the 5-yard line we decided to bow up and start playing some sound defense.”
The Bulldog defense rose to the occasion as they stopped Jo Byrns four consecutive times to turn the Red Devils over on downs inside the 5-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. RBS quarterback Aubrey Link took two knees to preserve the 27-24 victory.
The Bulldogs finish 5-5 overall and 1-2 in Region 4-1A to finish third overall. RBS will hit the road for the first round of the Class 1A playoffs next week at Whitwell.
