It was all about strong second-half performances in the first half of the regular season for Holtville but the Bulldogs changed their tune a bit during Friday night’s rivalry battle with Marbury. Holtville scored the game’s first two touchdowns in the opening nine minutes and it never gave up the lead on its way to a 33-14 victory, its second Bulldog Brawl win in the last three seasons.

Holtville (5-1) stayed perfect in non-region games this season and it avenged last year’s 36-14 defeat at Marbury. However, coach Jason Franklin said it was not about revenge Friday night but just about playing Holtville football.

Caleb Turrentine is a sports writer for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.