Staff Reports

PIEDMONT – Piedmont senior quarterback Cole Wilson connected on 14 of 18 pass attempts for 318 yards and five touchdowns in leading the third-ranked Bulldogs to a 54-20 Class 3A Region 6 football victory over Wellborn on Friday night.

Rollie Pinto was Piedmont’s top pass catcher with seven receptions for 168 yards and two scores. He also ran for 36 yards on four carries. Ishmael Bethel caught three passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs (9-0, 7-0).

Jaxon Howard had 43 yards on eight totes with Piedmont’s first score of the game – a 1-yard run with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter.

Wilson threw his first touchdown pass of the night with 8:50 to go in the second quarter. This one went for 73 yards to put Piedmont up 14-0.

The Panthers (5-3, 4-3) cut Piedmont’s lead to 14-6 on David Amberson’s 1-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play. The try for 2 was unsuccessful.

The Bulldogs responded with 31 seconds remaining in the first half on Wilson’s 35-yard touchdown toss to Howard, putting Piedmont up 20-6 at intermission.

The Bulldogs pulled away in the third quarter by scoring four unanswered touchdowns. Three of them were Wilson touchdown passes to Pinto from 43 yards, and Bethel from 11 and 25 yards. Brodie Homesley added a 4-yard touchdown run to give Piedmont a 48-6 advantage.

Wellborn’s Nick Morrow opened the fourth quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run. Cole Austin added a 5-yard score for Piedmont, and the Panthers’ Braden Horton finished the scoring on a 5-yard run for the final.

Piedmont closes out its regular season and region play with a trip to Glencoe on Friday.