Staff Reports

PIEDMONT – Jaxson Howard accounted for 155 yards on seven carries with three touchdowns. He also caught a 62-yard touchdown pass to lead the Piedmont Bulldogs past J.B. Pennington 48-7 in Class 2A first-round playoff action on Friday.

Cole Austin completed 6-of-8 pass attempts for 147 yards and two touchdowns for the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (10-1), who advance to face Collinsville in the second round next Friday. Ninth-ranked Collinsville (9-2) nipped Lamar County 35-34 in other Class 2A playoff action on Friday.

Austin got the Bulldogs going with his 62-yard touchdown pass to Howard. Howard then scored on runs of 36, 28 and 66 yards to give Piedmont a 27-0 advantage in the second quarter.

Ben Tolbert returned an interception for a touchdown before halftime to extend the Bulldog lead to 34-0 at halftime.

Austin opened the third-quarter scoring with a 15-yard touchdown toss to Carson Cleveland. Aliandre Wright scored Piedmont’s final touchdown on a 13-yard run in the third quarter.

Noah McClendon prevented the shutout on a 2-yard touchdown run late in the third for the final. McClendon led the Tigers with 71 yards on 19 carries.

Nathan Studdard tallied 60 yards on seven carries for the Bulldogs. Ethan Tidwell caught a pair of passes for 62 yards.

Ivan Jones also had an interception, and Landon Stambaugh recovered a fumble on defense for Piedmont.