Bulloch Academy exploded for 28 unanswered points in the third quarter for a 61-24 win over Robert Toombs Christian Academy at Gator Alley Friday night.

The Gators (3-0) led by just three, 27-24 at halftime, after a wild slugfest of a first half which saw big plays galore by both squads. According to BA head coach Terence Hennessy, the see-saw battle gave his Gators their first real test of the season.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of our kids," he said. "We got hit in the mouth in the first quarter and came right back. Our kids were very focused and never panicked. We went toe-to-toe with a good football team and were able to go blow-for-blow and win the half. That was a big deal."

Senior quarterback Lanier Olliff rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries and was 5-of-9 in the air for 150 yards and two more scores. Extremely adept at reading the defense on the option, he had scoring runs of 41, 33, and 10 yards.

Senior tailback Jarves Williams had seven carries for 87 yards and two scores and caught a 44-yard TD. Senior fullback Tyce Lovett had 76 yards on nine carries and one touchdown.

In the third, Bulloch came out clicking on all cylinders on both offense and defense.

"I felt like we had that capability," said Hennessy. "We finally put it together. We mixed up our option with regular run plays like isolations and powers. Our kids executed really well."

Bulloch had three quick scores to take a 48-24 lead midway through the quarter. Williams had scoring runs of 32 and 25 yards and Olliff hooked up with senior tight end Hunter Perry on a nine-yard TD toss.

On defense in the quarter, the Gators recovered two fumbles and shut down the Crusader offense.

"We made one big adjustment at halftime," said Hennessy. "We decided to take their big tight end (Toby Upshaw) out of the game and I believe that led to our big quarter."

It also seemed that the Crusaders (1-2) had run out of gas as the Gator defense stopped the RTCA running game cold.

"Being 3-0 feels pretty good," said Hennessy. "If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would be 3-0, I would have said that you were off your rocker. All the credit goes to kids. If we can keep playing gutsy football like we did tonight, good things will keep happening to us."

Star

Last season, Bulloch quarterback Lanier Olliff played well in a shootout loss to Robert Toombs. Olliff got his revenge Friday, racking up 252 yards of total offense while accounting for five touchdowns.

Box Score

RTCA 14 10 0 0 — 24 

BA 14 13 28 6 — 61

First Quarter

RTCA_Bryson Davis 35 pass from Brentt Anderson (Joseph Gibase kick), 10:12

BA_Lanier Olliff 33 run (Brian Marsh kick), 7:32

RTCA_Torrey Patterson 3 run (Gibase kick), 5:06

BA_Olliff 41 run (Marsh kick), 3:08

Second Quarter

RTCA_Gibase 29 FG, 8:23

BA_Jarves Williams 44 pass from Olliff (kick failed), 5:23

RTCA_Davis 45 pass from Anderson (Gibase kick), 1:03

BA_Olliff 10 run (Marsh kick), :04.5

Third Quarter

BA_Hunter Perry 9 pass from Olliff (Marsh kick), 8:57

BA_Williams 32 run (Marsh kick), 7:02

BA_Williams 25 run (Marsh kick), 6:05

BA_Tyce Lovett 48 run (Marsh kick), 2:02

Fourth Quarter

BA_Drew Bohlke 5 run (run failed), 5:30

RTCA BA

First downs 17 21

Total Yards 369 555

Rushes-yards 37-225 37-377

Passing 144 178

Comp-Att-Int 6-14-2 6-10-0

Turnovers 4 1

Penalties-Yards 11-118 8-74

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING_BA: Lanier Olliff 7-102; RTCA: Jalen Harris 14-106 

PASSING_BA: Lanier Olliff 5-9-0-2, 150; RTCA: Brentt Anderson 6-14-2-2, 144

RECEIVING_BA: Hunter Perry 2-53; RTCA: Bryson Davis 5-124