A smothering defensive effort mixed in with some big plays on offense allowed the Belhaven Bulldogs to earn a 14-0 win over the Washington Raiders in the 7-8-year old division of the Washington Youth Football League Saturday at Kugler Field.
The Bulldogs were able to fend off the Raiders for four quarters and after the game coach Mike Keech praised his team’s effort.
“They were firing off the ball good and played a good game,” Keech said. “We preach that defense wins championships.”
The two teams battled neck-and-neck in a scoreless first quarter, but the Bulldogs (2-1) jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the 7:19 mark in the second when Noah Manning connected on a fourth-down screen pass to Elijah Covington who scampered into the end zone.
“We just threw a little screen pass out to the side and he turned it up field and scored the touchdown,” Keech said.
The score would remain 6-0 until the 5:06 mark in the third quarter when the duo of Manning and Covington struck again. Manning completed another screen pass to Covington who burst 42 yards down the field for a score. Covington would score the two-point conversion to give his team a 14-0 advantage.
“(Covington) is just a true athlete all the way around,” Keech said. “He plays football, basketball and just does it all. He’s a spectacular kid.”
The Raiders (0-3) move the ball well at times but coach Brian Jones said his team struggled against the Bulldogs up front.
“We just had trouble at the line on both sides of the ball,” Jones said. “Our kids work hard and practice hard. We’re young but we just have to come out here and stay focused and have fun.”
Defensively, Washington was solid most of the morning and Jones  praised the effort his defensive line.
“We got a good effort from our two defensive ends Rashad Gordon and James Jordan and we got a good push from our nose guard Miles Jackson,” Jones said.
For the Bulldogs, the win was their second in a row and Keech felt the team has made major improvements from its Week 1 loss.
“Since Week 1 they have come a long way,” Keech said. “Our first game we never had no contact with anybody else and we didn’t know what to expect, but then they have come back and got it done.”

Bulldogs    0    6    8    0    —    14
Raiders    0    0    0    0    —    0

Scoring summary
B — Elijah Covington 6 pass from Noah Manning (two points failed), 7:19, 1st.
B — Covington 42 pass from Manning (Covington two points), 5:06, 3rd.