Slocomb scored 14 points in a span of 33 seconds in the first quarter and survived a late fourth quarter surge from Pike County to beat the Bulldogs 14-6 in Brundidge.

Those 14 points were the first the Red Tops put on the scoreboard against the Bulldogs (2-2, 2-1 AHSAA Class 3A, Region 2) in the last four meetings between the teams.

Late in the first quarter, the Red Tops’ Greg Burdeshaw leaped over the pile into the end zone for the first score of the night. The PAT was good and Slocumb (3-1, 3-0) held a 7-0 advantage.

Slocumb’s Andre Robinson returned an interception to the Pike County 34 on the next possession.

On the very next play, Jermaine Williams raced around the right side, broke a tackle and found pay dirt to give the Red Tops a 14-0 lead with 1:49 left in the first quarter.

“They helped us with turnovers and we were able to take advantage of them,” Slocomb head coach Jeff Mitchell said.

Pike County head coach Brad Waggoner agreed that miscues were a big part of the loss.

“We made way too many mistakes to win the football game,” Waggoner said. “You have got to give credit to Slocomb for capitalizing on some of those mistakes.”

Pike County looked to make a game of it in the third quarter.

After getting the ball at midfield, the Bulldogs drove down inside the 10 yard line before senior signal-caller Quan Bryant took the snap straight up the gut for a nine-yard score.

The extra point was blocked to make it a 14-6 game.

The teams exchanged possessions until the Bulldogs made one last effort with a little more than four minutes left in the game.

Bryant led the Bulldogs on the final drive rushing his way down the field six times for 35 yards.

However, a fourth down pass sailed just over the head of a receiver in the end zone, giving the Redtops a 3-0 start in the region.

“About four years ago, we went over to T.R. Miller and beat them and this one ranks right up there with that,” Mitchell said. “To beat them, it just feels good.”

Bryant led the Bulldogs with 11 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown while junior tailback CC Griffin toted the rock 15 times for 54 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Elijah Caple added 12 tackles for Pike County.

Williams led Slocomb with 24 rushes for 87 yards and a score, while quarterback William Haper finished 8-of-14 for 180 yards.

Waggoner said his team would go right back to work for next week’s game.

“We have to work on fixing ourselves and not make that many mistakes,” he said.

The Bulldogs host the cross-county rival Goshen Eagles next Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.