Gwinnett Daily Post

WINDER - The eighth meeting against Clarke Central wasn't the turnaround Winder-Barrow wanted for its season or for the history books.

The Gladiators (7-2) maintained their undefeated streak and secured the No. 2 spot in Region 8-AAAA with a 56-12 drubbing. The loss was the Bulldoggs' third consecutive, which moves the team to 2-7 overall.

It seemed as if Winder-Barrow quarterback Christian Davila would lead the offense to one last touchdown in the final seconds. But the 10-play drive was instead capped by a Davila fumble and Dawun Billups ran it back for a 91-yard score.

Davila took the team on his back during much of the game, orchestrating the first Winder-Barrow touchdown in the second quarter on a fourth-and-5, 25-yard TD run. The junior quarterback finished the game muddy from head to toe after rushing seven times for 57 of the team's total 100 yards on the ground. He completed 24 of 40 passes for 172 yards, most to Tyler Coleman (7-71).

With Clarke Central up 41-6, Davila once again took the team on a 14-play, 76-yard drive. He completed four passes to four receivers and a pass interference call against Clarke Central allowed the Bulldoggs to get a fresh set of downs for another shot. Kendrick Davis contributed 25 of his 49 rushing yards in the sequence, including a 9-yard TD run.

Much like last week's shocker against Salem, Winder-Barrow could not recover from early mistakes. Two early fumbles and an interception cost the Bulldoggs three touchdowns.

"I felt like we moved the ball at times," Bulldoggs coach Ben Corley said. "We need to find ways to finish some drives. Clarke Central is really good on offense and it's hard to come back when you give a good team extra opportunities. It puts you behind the eight-ball."

The star of the day for the Gladiators was quarterback Martay Mattox, who ended the game with three TD passes, two TD runs of his own and 137 yards on 10 completions.