CALHOUN, Ga. – Chris Little just wanted to make a play, so the Dade County cornerback took a chance.
Little’s interception of a Dre Prather pass in the third overtime secured the Wolverines’ 51-43 win over host Gordon Central Friday night.
Dade improved to 4-0, the program’s best start in over a decade.
Little, who had seen Prather use the slant pass to favorite target Dillon Blaylock several times, jumped Blaylock’s route just inside the goal line on the third-and-9 play. After making the game-saving pickoff, Little was mobbed by his exhausted teammates.
“They had been running slants all night long and that was their favorite receiver, so I decided to step in front,” Little said. “We just stayed tough. It’s a huge win for us. Man, we’re 4-0.”
Dade rode its huge offensive line to pile up 393 yards rushing, 179 of those and four touchdowns from fullback John Hampton. The Wolverines threw the ball only once in the second half as they worked their power running game to perfection.
“We knew we could pound it right at them,” Dade coach Bradley Warren said. “It worked, but we couldn’t stop their offense. They picked us apart, but we made the big stop at the end.”
Prather’s only bad pass of the night was his final one as he completed 24 of 37 for nearly 300 yards. His fourth-down 18-yard catch-and-run to Mann Daniel with 8:16 to play in regulation tied the game.
The Wolverines never wavered in overtime. They faced two fourth-down situations and went for it behind the bullish Hampton each time with success. He had two 1-yard touchdown runs in overtime and wingback David Page, who earlier ripped off a 75-yard scoring run, had the last score on a 15-yard run around right end. Hampton’s conversion run, his second of overtime, gave Dade the eight-point lead.
Two runs by Gordon Centreal netted 1 yard, forcing Prather to throw into tight coverage on the game’s final play.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.