Dadeville beats Beulah on last-second throw

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Dadeville Record

Originally published 10:34 p.m., May 20, 2009
Updated 10:34 p.m., May 20, 2009

The Dadeville Tigers concluded spring training with a dramatic win over Beulah on the final play of the night.

The Tigers trailed 13-7 with just seconds to go in the game. Dadeville had time for one more play in Bobcat territory.

The snap to quarterback Kyle Caldwell was not a good one, however, and the junior-to-be had to chase the ball. As he was doing so, the horn sounded, and Beulah players started celebrating.

But, the play wasn’t over yet, and Caldwell picked up the ball and threw it up to Kieran Sturdivant, who came down with it in the end zone.

The point after gave the Tigers a 14-13 win.

Head coach Richard White had a few questions entering spring practice, and not all of them were answered.

“We came in looking for a back-up quarterback (to Caldwell), and we still don’t have one,” said White, who’s entering his 10th season as leading man. “We’ve got five kids competing for it, and nobody really broke through and answered the challenge.

“We were also looking for a couple more offensive linemen, and I think we got that kink worked out.”

Clint Westbrook, who scored a touchdown in the win against Beulah, and Quen Pearson lead the running backs for next season. White said those veterans played well during practice, and that his wide receiving corps, which lost its four top producers, looked good.

“Our backs and wide receivers are going to be fine,” White said. “We’re young at wide receiver, and everything wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be, but that’s to be expected. They still have to work on their route-running. They’ve been limited in what they were able to do.”

White said Caldwell, who didn’t join the team until the baseball season ended, did a good job considering the circumstances.

“Kyle only got four practices, but he played almost every snap with the varsity,” White said. “He threw a couple of interceptions, but you can tell he’s going to be fine. He has got to work on timing and getting on the same page with the receivers. That will come with passing camps and 7-on-7 drills this summer.”

White said his defense, which has fewer questions to be answered than the offense for next year, looked stout. Beulah did not score on the first-team. He did add that the secondary still has spots open.

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