Dukes Win In Giles
By David Gravely

Dublin Middle School put on their own version of Monday Night Football this week, and despite the cold and windy conditions the Dukes won a tightly contested game over the Giles Spartans by a final score of 28-22.

Giles used their single wing attack to eat up most of the first quarter on their opening drive, before finally taking the ball into the endzone on a two yard run with 2:37 remaining. The two point conversion run put the Spartans up 8-0. After receiving the kickoff Dublin Middle began a drive of their own, using their speed on the ends to eat up yardage. With 5:51 left in the first half, quarterback Isaac Poe dropped back into the pocket and sent the ball to Alex Ramsey for a 25 yard touchdown pass. Jake Clary took the ball into the middle of the Giles offense for the two point conversion, putting the game at a 8-8 tie.

With Giles back on offense, the Dukes defense made adjustments to try to stop the running game. After driving deep into Dukes territory, Dublin finally made the defensive stop and took over after a strong play on fourth and short. With time running out in the half, the Dukes moved the ball with two solid runs before Dukes Head Coach Ward Angle called his final time out of the half. With seconds left on the clock, Poe dropped back and sent the ball to Hunter Thomas on a 65 yard touchdown pass to put the Dukes in the lead. A penalty after the score moved the extra point attempt back, and the Dukes were unable to convert and the half ended with Dublin ahead 14-8.

Dublin took a page out of the Spartans playbook to start the second half, and used a running attack to eat up most of the third quarter. Thomas made good on the drive at the 1:34 mark of the third quarter when he cut back across the defense and went 22 yards for the score. The two point conversion was no good, leaving the score at 20-8 Dublin.

The fourth quarter saw a shift in momentum, and Giles began to crawl their way back into the game. With 6:35 left, the Spartans went into the endzone on a six yard run, but the two point conversion was stopped. After a short Dukes punt, Giles went back on the attack, and at the 2:33 mark were able to score again on a 5 yard run. The two point conversion gave Giles their first lead since the first quarter, 22-20.

Dublin received the kickoff and were tackled deep in their own territory. Runs by the Dukes were able to gain yards, but a big play was needed as time was quickly slipping off the clock. With only 50 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Poe turned to hand the ball off only to realize no one was there. He quickly tucked the ball and ran to the right side of the line, where he broke two tackles and broke free down the Giles sideline. Poe covered 69 yards before finally crossing the goal line to give Dublin the lead back. Thomas scored the two point conversion to give the Dukes a 28-22 lead.

With one final chance to steal the game, the Giles quarterback dropped back to pass. Under heavy pressure from the defensive front, he sent the ball to an open Spartan receiver. At the last second, Kevin Smith broke on the ball and intercepted the pass to end the comeback effort. The Dukes took a knee on the final two plays to secure the win, 28-22.

"This was a great game for our kids, and they showed a ton of heart out there" said Head Coach Ward Angle. "When you go down late like that, it's easy to just give up, but our kids kept fighting. The long run for the final score, the interception......those were all huge. We're really proud of our guys. We've told them all week that our focus was to finish, and that's what they did."

The Dukes will now finish up their season in grand style, as they face the Pulaski Middle School Orioles in the final game for both teams. "I think everybody is really excited" said Angle. "We're going to play this game at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium. This is where both teams will eventually become teammates, so I think it's great that they get to play their final middle school game on Joel Hicks Field. These kids are all going to be Cougars next year, so we're hoping for a great game. We want everyone to come out and support these young men as they finish out their middle school football seasons."

The PMS vs DMS game is currently set for 5 pm at Pulaski County High School, with the Cougar junior varsity game to take place immediately afterwards.