Under the referee’s watchful eye, Hayden quarterback Corey Ward faced tough going against the eighth-ranked Cullman defense, which held the Wildcats to just 134 yards total offense in the Bearcats 21-0 shutout Friday night. It won’t get easier for Ward next week as his squad travels to No. 6 Hartselle.

One down, one to go.

Hayden got past one of the two behemoths in its region pretty much as expected, with the eighth-ranked Bearcats shutting out the Wildcats 21-0 Friday night.

Cullman’s Matt Britton returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a score, but a holding penalty nullified the great run.

On Hayden’s first possession, Alden Rakestraw intercepted a pass and raced 40 yards for the score. William Robinson added the point after to give the Bearcats a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Cullman’s next score followed a 43-yard punt return by Ben Moore. Quarterback Dylan Skipper found Moore for the final six yards and a score midway through the second quarter. Robinson’s point after gave the Bearcats a 14-0 lead with 5:50 left in the half.

The Bearcats final score of the night came early in the fourth quarter when Moore raced in from 25 yards. Robinson’s point after extended the lead to 21-0. The Bearcats’ score capped a 93 yard drive to seal the game.

The leading rusher in the game was Cullman’s Ben Moore, who had 123 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown, plus another touchdown receiving. Troy Forrest had 47 yards on 5 catches.

Leading the Wildcats (1-1, 0-1 region) was Issac Veitch, who had 29 yards on 19 carries. Aaron Whitt led the Hayden receivers with 37 yards on two catches, while Dusty Harrison had 36 yards on two catches.

Hayden coach Steven Kerby said, “We made enough mistakes in the first half to lose three games. You can make that many mistakes to a good team like Cullman and expect to have a chance to win. Our defense played great tonight, and our assistant coaches and defense did a great job. I’ve got to do a better job getting us prepared.”

“Our defense played really well tonight, we gave Hayden lots of trouble in the first half,” Cullman coach Mark Britton said. “Our offense was balanced tonight, our offensive line played well. Ben [Moore] had another good game. Hayden is much improved and played a good game tonight.”

The Bearcats (2-0, 1-0) host Walker next week, while the Wildcats take on Hartselle on the road.