TALLAHASSEE — A rough week for Crestview High School running back D.J. Stewart had a happy ending Thursday.
Stewart, who missed two days of school with a stomach virus, shook off his sickness to score a pair of touchdowns and lead the Bulldogs to a 35-21 win over Leon.
Crestview-Leon football photos>>>
“No matter what gets thrown at us, we are a hard fighting team,” Stewart said. “It doesn’t matter the talent level or skill level of the other team.
“I think we were finally able to execute on offense and we were moving the ball down the field on the run game.”
Stewart scored on runs of one and two yards. He also led the team in rushing with 103 yards on 23 carries. Sophomore quarterback Rusty Moorer added a couple of touchdown passes of 16 and 13 yards – the 16-yarder went to Alik Whited and Marquis McClain hauled in the 13-yard scoring strike in the win.
“That was a great effort from a team that just has no memory at all,” Bulldog Coach Tim Hatten said. “They don’t worry about what they did in the past – it’s what they are doing right now. And that’s what we try to strive for.
“We talked about, ‘Progress, not perfection.’ That’s our superintendent’s (Mary Beth Jackson) motto and it fits this team so well. We just want to make progress.”
The Bulldogs definitely made progress on offense piling up 343 total yards with no turnovers.
Perhaps nothing was bigger than the effort turned in by the Crestview defense that came up with three Lion fumbles and an interception.
Capri Jones had two fumble recoveries and Trey Dennis came up with the third one. For good measure Blaze Spencer, who had the Bulldog interception and forced the fumble recovered by Dennis, also scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.
The Crestview offense came out on all cylinders marching 96 yards for a score on the first Bulldog possession.
Andrew Adkins had a 38 yard catch that set up Stewart’s first score.
Leon got on the board early in the second quarter when Davonte Chapman recovered a Lion fumble in the Bulldog end zone. It was the only ball that bounced Leon’s way all night.
Moorer teamed up with Whited on the 16-yard pass with 6:11 left in the half and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way.
Stewart’s 2-yard touchdown came with 3:51 left in the third.
Crestview turned the Dennis fumble recovery into a 55-yard scoring drive that was capped off by Spencer’s run with 1:47 left in the third.
McClain’s touchdown finished off the Bulldog scoring with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Auburn commit D’Anfernee McGriff scored two touchdowns for Leon (2-4). McGriff finished the night with 175 yards in total offense on just 15 touches. He also lost two costly fumbles.
The Bulldogs (2-4) ran for 161 yards on 40 carries.
Moorer was 10-of-17 passing for 182 yards.
Adkins had three catches for 67 yards before leaving the game in the first half with what seemed to be a minor injury to his right knee.
McClain had four catches for 65 yards.
EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs tame Lions (PHOTOS, VIDEO)