Ty Jones, Bay Springs move one win closer to Region title with 36-20 win over Taylorsville

TAYLORSVILLE — As coach Dan Brady said Friday night, when it comes to Bay Springs, the Bulldogs "just do what they do."

Behind the always potent rushing attack led by Mississippi State commit Ty Jones, the Bulldogs got past Taylorsville 36-20 in a key Region 4-1A matchup on Friday night.

“Big players make big plays," Brady said. "When the game is on the line, Ty is going to make the play. He’s a great player, but the offensive line played great. We do what we do, and that’s run the ball.”

Next Thursday, Bay Springs (9-1, 6-0 Region 4-1A) hosts Lumberton for the Region 4-1A championship. Taylorsville (6-4, 5-1) will need Bay Springs to win to clinch in order to earn the No. 2 seed and host a first-round Class 1A playoff game.

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If the Bulldogs can find a way to start as fast as they did Friday night, they've got a great shot.

After Taylorsville turned the ball over on downs on the opening drive of the game, Jones scored on a 26-yard run and a successful two-point conversion gave Bay Springs a 8-0 lead with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession, Jones took the handoff and bounced outside and dove into the end zone from 9 yards out, and another successful two-point conversion extended the Bulldog lead to 16-0 with 8:45 left in the second quarter.

On Taylorsville's next drive Bay Springs defensive end Dalyn Pierce stripped the ball, scooped it up and raced 81 yards to the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 22-0 lead with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

Taylorsville finally got on the board on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Laza Beavers to T.K. Keyes, and a successful two-point conversion cut the Bay Springs lead to 22-8 with 5:25 left in the second quarter.

Bay Springs extended their lead to 28-8 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Newell to Jaylen Gammage.

“Newell made that play because he’s like a coach on the field," Brady said. "He sees things throughout the game. Taylorsville is a good team and they’re tough. We had a good scheme this week and the kids executed.”

Taylorsville cut the lead to 28-14 on a Cobey Craft 12-yard run with just under two minutes left in the third quarter.

Jones sealed the game with a 75-yard touchdown with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter to extend the Bay Springs lead to 36-14.

Jones finished with 158 yards with 19 carries and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldog rushing attack.

“It took us a while to get going, but once we got going it’s hard to stop,” Jones said. “Defensively we made some mistakes, but I kept told the guys I got them and came away with the win.”

Beavers finished with 297 yards passing for Taylorsville. Crosby added a 6-yard touchdown run for the Tartars to cut the lead to 36-20.

“I told our guys the key in big games is execution and turning the ball over and we had two big ones and they didn’t have any,” said Taylorsville coach Seth McDonald. “We've got to make adjustments, and they're a great ball club and defending state champs. Hope we can see them again.”