Friday, September 6, 2013

Butler takes down Page 56-14.

MATTHEWS – In a matchup of the past two 4AA state champions, the Butler Bulldogs defeated the Page Pirates 56-14 in non-conference action.

The Bulldogs got on the board quickly with a 45 yard touchdown pass from Anthony Ratliffe to Benjamin LeMay and quickly got another score when Ratliffe streaked past the Pirate defense for a long scoring run. “We want to score quickly and keep the ball moving,” Ratliffe commented after the game.

Page running back Anthony Capel got the Pirates on the board with a 25 yard touchdown run in the first quarter. But, the Page defense could not contain the Bulldog offense as Ratliffe found Jordan James on a 56 yard touchdown pass later in the quarter.

Butler wasn’t done scoring in the first half. On a fourth down on the Page 36, Butler executed a fake punt and Anthony Ratliffe found Clifton Duck in the end zone and Butler never looked back.

Page found the end zone again after some serious running by senior Jalen Gavin. The Pirates just didn’t have enough to overtake the home team on Friday and the effort by Butler’s junior quarterback Anthony Ratliffe and sophomore running back Benjamin LeMay. Ratliffe passed for four touchdowns while running for two. LeMay scored twice on the night as well.

“Tonight was a step forward for our team,” Butler coach Brian Hales commented after the game.

Butler travels to Winston-Salem to take on Mount Tabor next week while Page will be playing at county rival Ragsdale.