Holly Pond's Matt Doyle makes a catch and then has the ball knocked loose during Friday's game against Susan Moore.

HOLLY POND — After a promising first half of play, Holly Pond succumbed to Susan Moore’s staunch running game 27-7 to make for the Bronco’s 14th straight loss.

Following a slow start from both teams, Holly Pond struck first with a nine-play scoring drive that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown run from quarterback Michael Lambert.

“After that scoring drive, we couldn’t ever get our defense off the field,” Holly Pond coach Mike Bates said. “We only had six snaps after that drive — they ran the ball all over us.”

The Broncos and Bulldogs entered the half tied 7-7.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, their halftime adjustments failed to follow through. By the end of the game, Holly Pond amassed 144 total yards of offense, while Susan Moore rushed for 228.

The Broncos only gained 39 yards on the ground, but Bates asserted that there wasn’t a lack of potency in their running game.

“We planned to pass, and we threw the ball a bunch,” he said.

Lambert threw for 104 yards on 24 attempts.

By the end of the game, the Bulldogs gained 374 yards of total offense on 18 first downs. The Broncos had eight first downs and one turnover to Susan Moore’s zero.

Bates said his team has to maintain effort.

“Your only options are to give up or keep playing,” he said. “I want our kids to keep fighting.”

Holly Pond’s next game is against county-rival Fairview.

“The kids are always excited to play them,” Bates said. “It’s supposed to be a big rivalry, but we haven’t held up our part of the bargain so far. I hope we can get out there and win this time.”

‰ Winfield 38, Vinemont 6: Coach Alan Scott called his Eagles’ lopsided defeat to Winfield Friday night a “complete team loss.”

“It’s a loss from top to bottom,” he said. “Coaching staff and all.”

The Eagles, coming off a monster win against Hanceville in which they rushed for 474 yards, began the night competively.

“We had chances early,” Scott said. “We responded to their early touchdown drive with a touchdown of our own.”

The Pirates scored on their first possession when quarterback Jordan Hunt rushed in from 14 yards out, which put them ahead 7-0.

Vinemont responded when quarterback Garrett Boland hit running back Bo Wright for an 18-yard touchdown, making it 7-6. An exciting moment at the time, the strike turned out to be the Eagles only touchdown and only complete pass of the night.

After the touchdown, Vinemont recovered an untraditional onside kick.

“We lined up in a bunch formation on kickoff, like we always do,” Scott said. “It wasn’t like the kind of formation you see when a team is trying to make a comeback. We just kicked it up the middle and our guys ended up falling on it.”

Despite the fortunate recovery, the Eagle had their momentum halted at the very last moment when Winfield stopped them inside the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

Afterwards, the Pirates commandeered the first half.

Hunt scored two more times with his feet, and Winfield entered the locker room leading 20-6.

The second half continued to be smooth sailing for the Pirates.

Running back Xaiver McCollum scored twice, and Jake Elkins tacked on a 28-yard field goal to account for the final score.

Allowing big plays and four turnovers plagued Vinemont. Despite the decisive loss, the Ealges ran three more plays than the Pirates (51-48) and held the ball for roughly 16 more minutes.

They, however, were outgained 385 to 199.

Vinemont’s passing game received some help from its usually potent running game, but Scott said it didn’t meet the Eagles standards.

“Our running game was not what it should’ve been,” he said.

John Michael Dye, who on the season has rushed for 662 yards and nine touchdowns, gained 97 yards on 22 attempts. Vinemont had 181 rushing yards.

Next week, Vinemont meets county opponent Cold Springs, which moved to 4-1 by thrashing Falkville 47-12.