There’s an old saying that offense wins games, but defense wins championships.
    If that were the case, then Bulloch Academy would have a bright, shiny state championship trophy in the school’s office after the performance against Southland Academy Friday night.
    With less than 15 seconds left in the game and the ball on the two-yard line, the Gators kept the Raiders out of the end zone not once, but twice to preserve a dramatic 21-16 victory. The defense also held on three fourth-down situations in the second half, including a one at the Gator nine-yard line in the third quarter and a fourth-and-goal midway through the final quarter.
    Bulloch’s offense lost four fumbles in the second half, but the defense stopped Southland from converting the errors into points on three occasions. Bulloch also intercepted a Southland pass late in the game.
    Seniors Dillan Finch, Codi Johnson, Clayton Rogers, Caleb Bohannon, Chris Young, Jaylen Evans as well as junior Asa Johnson, Harrison Averitt and Loy Waters answered the call again and again in the second half. Exhausted but unwilling to be beaten, the defense rose to the challenge.
    “That was one of the best defensive efforts that I have ever been associated with,” said BA head coach Ronnie Hodges. “The whole second half and especially when they took over the ball deep in your own territory. The guys came to play. They never gave up, and they never thought they were going to lose. When they would come over to the sideline, they would tell me, 'Coach, they ain’t gonna score.' I was so proud of them. They dug in and did the job.”
    Bulloch (4-2 overall and 2-2 in region play) built a 21-7 lead by halftime on the physically-huge Raiders. In the first quarter, fullback Young scored on a two-yard plunge with 2:49 left. Southland (3-3, 2-2) scored on its very next series when fullback Clay Oxford got the toss but pulled up and threw a 32-yard touchdown strike to Chan Waller at the 11:51 mark of the second quarter.
    Later in the second, the Gators went to the air themselves when Loy Waters hit Jaylen Evans in stride down the middle for a 59-yard score. After BA forced Southland to put on the next possession, Bulloch struck again, this time on a 20-yard scamper by Evans. He took the option pitch, raced around the left end, got a great block from Matthew Blitch and walked into the end zone.
    But in the third quarter, it was all Southland.
    The Raiders used their muscle to march down the field and get up the majority of the third quarter. When they were finally stopped and had to punt, Southland recovered a fumble on the punt return and continued its drive to score. On a fourth-and-seven from the BA nine, the Gators held and got the ball back at the five.
    On the next play, BA quarterback Waters tried to drop back and pass but was tackled in the end zone for a safety. The two points brought the score to 21-9 with 3:08 left in the quarter. The Gators had one offensive play in the third quarter for minus five yards.
    The Gator defense held twice more early in the fourth but they couldn’t keep the Raiders out of the end zone on their third try. SA quarterback Jake Hood connected with Allen Gleeson on a 10-yard score with 1:07 left in the game to bring the score to 21-16.
    Bulloch got the ball back with 1:06 left. Southland had no time outs and Bulloch seemed content to run out the clock. But when Young plunged into the line, he fumbled the ball and the Raiders were back in business from midfield with 59.2 seconds left.
    Southland ran a hook-and-ladder play that netted 30 yards. Quarterback Hook netted seven yards on a midline run but precious seconds ran off the clock. He spiked the ball with 35.7 left. Another Hook run netted 12 yards down to the BA two-yard line with 14.8 remaining.
    That’s when the Gators dug deep, held twice on two consecutive quarterback sneaks and sealed the victory as the horn sounded.