Kittens Claw Bulldogs: Win 63-0

Southern Lab took on the Bulldogs from Thrive Academy in Baton Rouge. The game started off with a boom as senior defensive back Michael Wicker returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Southern Lab never looked back after that. The Kitten defense proved to be too much for the Bulldogs tonight as they overwhelmed Thrive Academy in all facets of the game.

On offense, running backs Lutrell Pruitt and Daelon Hardy were a two headed monster for that Kittens ground game. Scoring five touchdowns between the both of them. While University of Houston wide receiver commit Reginald Johnson added another score through the air.

Pruitt said after the game “my offensive line was really good tonight, getting up to the front side (line) backer, allowed for holes to open.” I asked him what he saw as some of the contributing factors in the win tonight. “We’ve worked on running the ball up the middle, and say if they are stacking the box, we’ve worked on spreading out the defense and hitting them with slants and out routes. Also, this Thrive defense was young, and not as advanced as some of the other teams we’ve played.”

Linebacker Jabar Triplett, who recently committed to Arizona, recovered a fumble for a score on a botched punt snap. Because of the score the senior was limited in playing time, but made the most of it on the night. Having several tackles for loss and a sack as well. Junior defensive end Chris Bess had three sacks on the night, one of which was a safety for the Kittens. “The quarterback wasn’t as agile as some of the other ones we are used to playing. He was kind of standing back there a little flat footed at times and that gave me a little more time to get to him.”

The game between the two schools was moved up a day due to possible bad weather coming in on Friday. “Our preparation this week was crazy, because the game got changed last minute. Tuesday we had practice, then Wednesday we had practice and a walk-through at the same time. So that mentally prepared us at the same time. We watched film more.” I ask Bess about his safety and he explains to me what he saw on film, and what transpired on the field. “The tackle gave up what they were doing, so I was able to overpower him. Just bull rush him and just get to the QB. I knew the QB was going to be right there because he couldn’t just take off as fast as everybody else.”