The Pike County Bulldogs started sluggish against Slocomb Friday night, but did what good teams do and dominated the second half, walking away with a 35-14 win.

The win keeps the Bulldogs neck and neck with Daleville in the Region Two standings, and the two teams are on a collision course Friday night to determine the champion.

The Bulldogs, who have owned their previous opponents all season long, struggled with Slocomb and entered the locker room at halftime tied with seven.

“We played pretty good in the first half, but played a little flat,” said Bulldogs head coach Fred Holland. “They played much better in the second half and corrected their mistakes from the first half.”

Deshon Cowling scored in the first half to give the Bulldogs the early lead at 7-0. The Bulldogs defense, which has been so dominate during the season, let up a first half touchdown to tie the game at seven.

The two teams came out in the second half and scored 21 unanswered points to pull away from Slocomb.

The Bulldogs received second half touchdowns by Colby Batie, Kamari Jackson, Cowling and Michael Rumph.

The Bulldogs knew they have a big game Friday night against Daleville, but they also knew they could not look past Slocomb. Slocomb provided a stout competition for the Bulldogs, but in the end Pike County did just enough to get the win.

“They responded really well to the little adversity that we faced during the game,” Holland said. “It’s always tough playing on the road. The guys came in at half time and made adjustments. Overall, I thought the guys responded well in a big game, knowing what was at stake.”

The Bulldogs have been able to beat teams fairly easily throughout the 2015 season. Holland and the Bulldogs took each week’s game as an opportunity to get better and to use it as a benchmark for games later in the season.

“In each game that we have played it has given us the opportunity to get better,” Holland said. “I think our schedule set up quite well for us to be able to get ready for each game.”

Pike County and Daleville’s big clash for the region championship will be Friday night at 7 p.m. at Warhawk Stadium.