Quitman visited Grand Saline on Friday, where the Bulldogs took down the Indians 70–62 after two overtime periods.

One can never be sure when a high school sports competition will go from being a run-of-the-mill Friday night to an edge-of-the-seat thrilling game. It’s part of why fans go to any athletic endeavor – the unexpected.

“Shock the world” is Quitman’s motto this year, and they certainly shocked Grand Saline.

The Bulldogs got off to a solid start, getting up 14-4 early and taking an 18-10 lead into the second period, when the game became looser, resulting in more whistles. A lack of ball control and aggressive defense led to a flurry of fouls and both teams getting into the bonus and onto the foul line early in the half.

Quitman allowed the Indians too many second chance shots under the bucket, allowing them back into the game. They tied at 24 each with 1:50 left in the half, and Grand Saline hit a three in the waning seconds to take a 31-25 lead into the locker room.

The struggle continued in the third, when the gap closed by only one. The Bulldogs still trailed 41–36 heading into the final period of regulation.

Quitman coach Brandon Fields had Ford and Jack Tannebaum double team the Indians’ best ball handler on any inbound play, forcing someone else to dribble, a smart tactic which applied just enough pressure to cause a bit of frustration.

Early in the fourth, the Quitman bench, including a player and Fields, earned technical fouls for their words directed at referees, giving Grand Saline four free throw attempts.

A three pointer by Thomas Sabedra got the Bulldogs right back on track. The game drew close, with a tie for the first time in a dozen minutes of play at 43-all.

The Indians pulled away a few times, with timely play by Ford Tannebaum drawing them back in – once with a steal and score, then again with a three-point bucket at 10 seconds to close the gap to 55–53.

The tenacious Quitman defense forced a quick turnover, Levi Thompson drew a foul with seven seconds remaining and hit both clutch free throws to tie it at 55 points each.

The Bulldogs fouled with one second left, giving Grand Saline two free shots to win the game, both missing the mark to send the game to overtime.

Thompson continued to get himself to the charity stripe, hitting four of his eight opportunities in the first extra four-minute period, getting Quitman to 59 points. This trailed the Indians’ 61 points with 1:13 remaining, when Ford Tannebaum got another steal and took it all the way in for a layup to tie the game, where the score remained until the buzzer.

The Bulldogs scored twice to take a slight advantage in the second overtime period. A free throw attempt by Sabedra catapulted off the rim straight up, down, then around the rim for a couple seconds before bounding through the net for a point. It was a signal that things might finally fall Quitman’s way.

Thompson hit three-of-four free throws plus a layup to pull away from Grand Saline in the final four bonus minutes. The Bulldog defense allowed no field goals in the period. A lone Indian free throw was all they scored, accounting for the 70–62 final tally.

According to coach Fields, “It doesn’t matter who we play on the road, it’s a tough game every night, no matter if we’re playing against a bad team or a good team.” His charges were able to meet the challenge on Friday in their sixth straight contest as the visiting team, even without senior Aiden Corrior suiting up.

Fields shared, “I love them. It’s a long road ahead, but I really have faith in them. We’re going to shock the world.”

The Bulldogs opened district play Monday with their seventh straight road game against Harmony, losing 66-60.