Second-year Montevallo head coach Jim King used eight running backs, besides 1,000-yard rusher A.J. Ward, to pound out 386 yards on the ground in the Bulldogs’ 38-18 victory over the Vincent Yellow Jackets.

Ward, who finished the season with 1,559 yards rushing, carried the ball 12 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulldog victory. Fullback Brian Fulgham also had five carries for 98 yards while Jeff McGraw, Corey Lovelady and Patrick Campbell had a touchdown apiece.

Fourth-year Vincent head coach Dwight Spradley said he was impressed with Montevallo but knows his team can compete with schools from other classifications if they eliminate turnovers. The Yellow Jackets lost an interception and two fumbles while fumbling six times in the loss to the Bulldogs.

&uot;That’s the best team we’ve played,&uot; Spradley said. &uot;They were a bunch of animals and they handled our front pretty much all night.&uot;

Defensively for the Bulldogs, Fulgham continued to haunt opposing defenses with his 18 tackles.

&uot;(Fulgham’s) a playmaker who comes ready to play,&uot; King said. &uot;He’s a hard worker.&uot;

Vincent played 4A Chelsea and 5A Shelby County earlier in the season but because of the tiebreaker, Spradley said his team suffered due to playing the tougher teams in higher classifications. However, he said, it will pay off in the end.

&uot;I think we’re a better football team this year because of it,&uot; Spradley said of his team’s schedule. &uot;I just hate it for this year’s seniors.&uot;

Vincent barely missed making the playoffs after Hale County, a team the Yellow Jackets beat 31-0, downed Akron Friday, giving Hale the edge in the tiebreaker.

The Class 2A Region 4 tiebreaker went to the opposing teams’ total wins, which gave the advantage to Hale since Akron had one win due to a forfeit earlier in the season.

Spradley said he spent more than half an hour discussing the tiebreaker with AHSAA officials, but he agrees the AHSAA must have rules in place to sort out these types of occurrences.

&uot;I still think if you ask the other teams in our region who the fourth best team is, the answer would be unanimous,&uot; Spradley said referring to his Yellow Jackets.

Montevallo also missed the playoffs this season due to a tiebreaker, but King sees his team heading in the right direction.

&uot;It means a lot to us because 4-6 is a losing record; 5-5 is not,&uot; King said. &uot;It is a big step for our program.&uot;

Montevallo and Vincent will now both look to the 2005 season where both teams will be returning eight starters on offense and eight on defense.

&uot;We’re very close to being an 8-2 ballteam, and we feel like we’ve got some quality guys coming back,&uot; King said.

Spradley is also optimistic.

&uot;If we’ll work as hard this spring and summer as we did last spring and summer … we’ll be where we need to be,&uot; Spradley said