#HSFT17: Stop No. 14 – New Albany Bulldogs

NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WCBI) — New Albany washed away a three year playoff drought in 2016, but the Bulldog’s season ended in the first round in heartbreaking fashion.

Trailing 22-18, the Bulldogs fumbled at the goal line with just under four minutes to play, watching Amory advance in the 4A playoffs with a 29-18 victory.

“…how we lost right there in the end, in the playoff game, I think it hurt them and it’s supposed to hurt them,” head coach Jake Hill said.

“We’ve definitely used that this offseason and they’ve been working hard.”

“It’s given us a lot of motivation to work harder because we only made it to the first round of it and we could have made it farther,” senior middle linebacker and defensive end Eli Keener said on the loss, “but we let the game slip through our hands in the last final seconds but it gave us a lot more motivation.”

Year three for Hill as head coach has the feeling the Bulldogs will make the leap into becoming playoff contenders.

A big part of that confidence comes in the trenches, as New Albany returns four senior offensive lineman to boost their offense.

“I’m really excited to see those guys play together,” Hill said, “you’ve got four seniors that’s been through the fire, since they’ve been young. Now they get to go out and do it together, I think that’s going to be pretty special.”

“We feel like, our offense is going to be pretty powerful this year,” senior offensive tackle London Erby said.

“Coming back, we’re more experienced, we work together pretty well, and I feel like it’s going to be a good season”

New Albany is still searching for that first state championship, and this year’s team believes it can be a part of something special.

“As a kid, I always watched New Albany growing up and I always wanted to be a part of something great as the old teams that have come through here,” senior outside linebacker and wide receiver Aaron Estes said.

“This year, I think everybody is all in,” Hill said.

“You can tell by the way they work, the way they run, the way they respond when I challenge them. When I see that they’re going through adversity and I’ll stop practice and workouts and I’ll challenge them, they respond really, really well.”