The Dora Bulldogs made their much anticipated return to the football field Friday night after being forced to forfeit their previous two games due to COVID-19 concerns. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the effect of the two week shutdown of the football program was obvious. The Bulldogs struggled all night in the trenches against the Tigers wing-t offensive attack. The Tigers would rack up 379 of their 429 yards of offense on the ground.
However, there were some bright sports for the Bulldogs on homecoming, running back Jamarcus Goodmon ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Goodmon also surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season, despite only playing 8 games. Quarterback Garrett Hogland showed a lot of promise for the future and made some big plays in the passing game and the occasional quarterback run for tough yardage.
I usually provide a game recap of the action. However, this night was about much more than the game on the field. The 2020 high school football season has been a challenge for the Bulldogs and every program in the state of Alabama for that matter. It has been an accomplishment to play on Friday nights. The Bulldogs know that personally all too well after being forced to forfeit the previous two region games that were scheduled with Good Hope and Etowah. There is a responsibility to report the results on the field but I also choose to highlight the appreciation that the alumni has for the players representing Dora High School in this challenging time.
The loss for the Bulldogs caps off an official 5-5 regular season record and 4th place finish in Region 6. The Bulldogs will travel to Madison to face the undefeated Region 7 champion, Madison Academy in the first round of the AHSAA class 4A state playoffs. Tickets for the Madison Academy game may be purchased through GoFan. If you cannot make the trip to Madison you can stream the game online through the NFHS Network.