FOOTBALL: Dublin rushes for 500 yards, Bostic for four TDs, as defense leads way in first-round blowout of Gordon Central

The finely-tuned machine of Dublin rumbled its way into the state playoffs Friday night, and rattled off its 11th win of an unbeaten season against an overmatched Gordon Central in the first round. 

The No. 2-ranked Irish, who kept humming along with scarcely a hitch in any of the three phases, cranked out over 550 total yards and forced five turnovers in the 63-6 rout at the Shamrock Bowl. 

“I thought we played well in all phases of the game, offensively, defensively,” Dublin head coach Roger Holmes said. “I thought our secondary did a good job, the number of throws they put in the air. All around, it was a good night. We were really sound, solid in our kicking game.” 

The result ended a 4-7 campaign for the visiting Warriors, who were excited simply for the opportunity to play an 11th game for the first time since 2012. 

Gordon Central’s milestone season, in year 2 of a rebuild under head coach Lenny Gregory (a former state champion at Collins Hill), also saw the end of a 31-game losing streak (going back to 2020) with a shutout victory over Southeast Whitfield to open the season. 

Gregory, who offered praise to his team on the turnaround, added that he felt the Irish were every bit as strong as advertised. 

“We just played a really good football team, who might win the state championship,” he said. “They’re really good.” 

For a third-straight game, Dublin outscored its season average 50 points, and drove the ball down the field at will, mostly with a ground game that put up 506 yards in rushing alone. 

But the domination came mostly from its defense, which had few pieces misplaced and came relentlessly downhill for quick tackles that gave Gordon Central little room to operate. 

The Warriors didn’t help themselves with mistakes, but overall, faced a tall task of singling out skill athletes against defenders in space to any part of the field. And running the football for much of anything, against a comparatively massive Dublin front seven, was all but out of the question. 

Gordon Central, officially, logged 19 carries for a total of four net yards, though more than half were keepers by quarterback Jayden Sibley, who was tackled for losses on a majority of plays he chose to tuck and run. The senior was effective throwing it, completing 9-of-18 for 128 yards, and the only touchdown of the game early in quarter 4. 

In all, the Irish outgained Gordon Central 564 yards to 132. They were led by the four touchdowns and 172 rushing yards of Xavier Bostic, plus about 134 total from Willie Batts, who scored once as both a rusher and receiver. Quarterback Micah O’Neal also rushed for 109 and a touchdown. 

Dublin finished each of its first nine possessions in the end zone, building a lead of 49 points by halftime that increased to 63 with a pair of touchdown additions in the third quarter. 

The Irish, after early touchdown runs by Batts and Bostic, were only on pace for a modest halftime lead at the end of a quarter. But three turnovers in the second would quicken the game’s lopsided turn. 

Dublin, on two interceptions and a fumble recovery, took over in plus territory to begin three of their remaining five possessions, and scored touchdowns on the end of each to go into halftime up 49-0. 

Several moments before, with the Irish lead only 14-0 late in the first, Gordon Central was perhaps a stop away from forcing a first momentum swing in its direction. 

But Irish receiver Sirius Tobridge peeled back to the football for a diving catch that converted a third-and-considerable, and kept an eventual third Dublin scoring drive on track into the second period. 

O’Neal pulled the ball on a read and scored from 30 yards on the second of two double-digit runs that closed out the possession, and the point-after stretched the home lead to 21-0. 

A first turnover followed immediately, after a Sibley deep shot – hurried by a rush from Dublin’s QuanTavis Lovett – fell incomplete. Sibley, on a third-down rollout, lost his grip on the ball and fumbled. Azontae Walker had the Irish recovery, and Dublin took over at the Gordon Central 28. 

Xavier Bostic seared his way up the middle for a second touchdown on the next play. 

A drive later, Gordon Central moved into Dublin territory for the first time on back-to-back first downs, one via pass interference followed by another on Sibley’s strike to Kaleb Stephens. But the next series of downs came to a third-and-13, and Sibley’s rollout pass on shaky footing bounced incomplete, forcing the Warriors to punt it back away. 

Dublin avoided a potentially pivotal turnover after working its way out of the shadow of its own end zone, and losing the football on a run up the middle. But the fumble squirted upfield past several sets of hands, and was picked up and run further ahead by Bostic. 

A personal foul on the eventual tackle added 15 to the end of the broken play that ultimately went for at least 30. Moments later, he’d score his third touchdown on a reversal of field from 16 yards, and the Dublin lead was 35-0. 

Back-to-back interceptions helped the Irish tack on two more touchdowns. D.J. Woodard stole one to set up a 22-yard O’Neal pass to Trav Bostic with 3:04 left. Tobridge read another rolling throw for a pick on the next possession, and nearly returned it for a touchdown before being forced out just shy of the end zone. 

Fullback Jordan Tobridge stuffed it in from the yard or two left shortly after to take Dublin’s lead to seven scores at the break. 

Bostic ran for his fourth touchdown, and Batts caught a pass from backup quarterback Jeff Davis (the junior’s first career score) for the two Irish touchdowns in the third. 

Gordon Central, against remaining reserves, drove to the red zone for the first time and scored its only points on a 75-yard march ending midway through the fourth quarter. 

Sibley, with a double-digit scramble and a handful of key passes, delivered the 20-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Streete, who found a wide-open seam on a double move against his defender. Gordon Central opted to try for two out of its “swinging gate” alignment, but misfired on a diagonal snap that got loose in the backfield. 

Second-round action will bring 15th seed Jasper County, a 41-31 victor over ACE Charter last week, to the Bowl on Friday. 

“We’re glad to get out with a win, and it appears we got out without getting anybody banged up, so on to round 2,” Holmes said.