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BEULAH — The Beulah Bobcats are off to their first 3-0 start in football since 2018. They made the state playoffs that year, and although the 2024 season is still young, their chances of making it again this year appear to be very, very, good. In their first Class 3A, Region 4 game on Thursday, the Bobcats defeated Dadeville 28-14 at Bobcat Stadium.

With rain being in the forecast for Friday, the game was moved up one day. It looks to have been a good move for both schools. Weather wasn’t a factor at all in the outcome.

The game got off to a great start for visiting Dadeville. They returned the opening kickoff some 90 yards for a touchdown. They added the point-after kick to lead 7-0 with only a few seconds off the clock.

The Bobcats tied the game at 7 early in the second quarter. Quarterback Demarion Foreman led them on a 73-yard drive to deadlock the game. He made a number of key plays in the drive including a 14-yard run on a third-and-12 play to keep the drive alive. He also had a five-yard run on a fourth-and-two play and scored the touchdown on a 17-yard right up the middle. Reed Maloof’s point tied the game at seven with 6:06 left before halftime.

Dadeville moved the ball to near midfield before a big defensive play by Ken Hightower forced a punt on fourth and eleven. The ball was downed on the five-yard line with 2:19 to go in the half.

The game looked to be going Dadeville’s way when they intercepted the ball on the Beulah 32, but the Bobcat defense held strong. They got the ball back on an interception by Tristan Robinson in the end zone with less than a minute to go in the half.

Beulah survived a scare and looked to be fortunate to be going into intermission with a tie score. Foreman & company had different ideas. They took the ball 80 yards to take the lead with the scoring play coming on a dazzling 65-yard bomb from Foreman to Maloof. The play appeared to be going nowhere at first. Foreman dropped back to pass and with Dadeville coming with a strong rush, he scrambled up the middle and just before reaching the line of scrimmage flipped an amazing sidearm throw well downfield toward Maloof, who had gotten behind the Dadeville secondary. The unorthodox pass could not have been thrown any better. Maloof caught it on the dead run inside the Dadeville 30 and easily made the end zone.

With 29.1 seconds left to play in the half, the Bobcats had their first lead. Maloof’s extra point made it 14-7.

Dadeville tied the game at 14-all late in the third period. They drove 63 yards for the tying score with the big play being a swing pass from McKelvey to Burns. That big play advanced the ball all the way to the Beulah 13. They scored a touchdown a couple of plays later on a run by Cameron Heard. With 2:14 left in the third quarter it was a 14-14 game.

The Bobcats would reclaim the lead on their next possession, going some 61 yards with running backs Khamone Lindsey and Tristan Robinson having big plays. A pass from Foreman to Wes Grant was another key play in the drive, giving Beulah a first down on the Dadeville 13. Two plays later Lindsey scored on a run off the right side of the line. Maloof’s third straight PAT made the score 21-14 Beulah with 9:33 left in the game.

The Bobcats then started taking total control. Their defense forced Dadeville into a punt on fourth and 11. The Bobcats took over on their 42 and drove 58 yards in the waning minutes of the game to leave no doubt as to who the better team was on this night. Lindsey was spectacular on the drive. On one run he gained 18 yards dragging three Dadeville players with him the final five yards. Another pass from Foreman to Grant ate up a big chunk of yardage and Foreman capped off the drive with a four-yard run around right end. Maloof’s fourth PAT scored 28-14 with 5:16 left.

Dadeville had a nice drive going on their last possession, but an obvious block-in-the-back infraction took away an apparent touchdown run by the quarterback. They overcame that setback and moved the ball inside the Bobcat 25 before losing it on downs when a fourth-and-three run came up short of the first down with 1:35 left. Beulah took over and ran out the clock.

With flying colors, the Bobcats have passed the test of getting off to a good start. They are now in the heart of their Region part of the schedule. Six of their seven remaining games will be against regional foes. The next two games will be against two long-time AISA programs that are playing public school teams for the first time this year. This coming Friday they will be taking on Lee-Scott in Auburn and on the following Friday they will tangle with Glenwood in a home game. They will then have a non-Region game versus Loachapoka before closing out the regular season with Region tilts against B.B. Comer, Childersburg, Randolph County and Autauga Academy.

After having gone 4-7, 1-9, 2-8, 1-9 and 4-6 over the past five years, a 3-0 start has to feel exceptionally good for Beulah. It didn’t just happen by chance. There has been a lot of hard work, patience and being loyal to the program in getting to where the Bobcats are right now. It’s a credit to the coaching staff and players to have had this kind of turnaround.