So much for playoff jitters. 

For a team that has not been in the playoffs since 2015 and not won a playoff game in over a decade, the Quitman Bulldogs played the favored Atlanta Rabbits like the passionate, rugged veterans they have become this season in their 53-47 bi-district win last Tuesday at Union Grove.

In front of a Quitman crowd that spilled over on Atlanta’s home side, the Bulldogs played with the poise of a champion. 

The Bulldogs never fell behind as they streaked to a 10-0 start with Brady Floyd driving the lane, scoring and making the free throw to give the Bulldogs an immediate 3-0 lead. Floyd scored again with six minutes left in the quarter to lead 5-0, then offensive machine Levi Thompson added a bucket and a triple to make it 10-0 with 4:13 left to play.

Atlanta finally scored their first points at the 2:25 mark. The Rabbits cut the score to 10-7 before Jack Tannebaum hit a 3-point bomb as time expired to give the Bulldogs a 13-7 first quarter edge. 

In the second quarter, Thompson and Floyd opened things up to score eight and four points respectively. The strong defensive effort by the entire team was evident throughout the affair. The Bulldogs went up 32-21 until Atlanta’s Alex Boston hit a triple at the buzzer to cut the Quitman halftime lead to 32-24. The Bulldogs held Boston in check most of the contest. He had 23 points, but when the teams met last November he had 37, and the Rabbits won that game by two.    

Quitman posts Hunter Jacobs, Garin Kisinger, Landon Richey and Ethan Presley dominated the lane as the Quitman coaching staff did a great job in their rotations. Atlanta rarely got a second chance bucket. The perimeter defense of Thomas Sebedra, Floyd, Thompson, Jack Tannebaum and Ford Tannebaum did a great job shutting down Atlanta’s downtown shooting.   

Quitman used a 12-7 third quarter run to lead 44-31 going into the final quarter. Quitman led 38-26 on a shot by Thompson at the 6:16 mark. A Kisinger bucket with a few seconds left gave the Bulldogs a 13-point cushion. 

The Rabbits were not ready to hop away defeated and continued to fight back. Boston scored 12 of the Rabbits’ final 16 points. Quitman answered with a continued defensive presence and making 5-6 free throws down the stretch by Richey, Presley and Thompson.

Floyd once again led the team, making play after play and keeping the Rabbit defense baffled with his many shifty moves. Thompson hit for 23 points, Jacobs 10 and Floyd nine for the well-balanced Quitman offense.

The continued presence of a hustling defense was the key for this Quitman win. Atlanta was used to scoring in the 60- to 70-point range and the Bulldogs shut them down. The Rabbits were not able to get into their prolific running offense because of the strong Bulldog desire to keep them from scoring.