Welch, Polty have big nights as Lake Worth rallies to beat McGregor in season opener

On a night when offense was at a premium, Lake Worth junior defensive back Craig Williams came up with two of the biggest plays of the game Friday to help the Bullfrogs rally past McGregor, 47-43, in the season opener at Kittrell Stadium.

With McGregor facing a fourth-and-goal at the Bullfrogs 8, Williams wrapped up quarterback Veandre McDaniel and forced an incomplete pass to preserve the win.

With 5:31 to play and Lake Worth trailing 43-41, Williams recovered a McDaniel fumble at the Bulldogs 21. Four plays later, Lake Worth quarterback Caleb Welch found Mark Fulkerson open for an 8-yard score with 2:53 left. It was Fulkerson’s second touchdown catch of the game and Welch’s sixth scoring toss.

Welch, a senior, had a big night completing 20 of 35 passes for 350 yards. Junior receiver Damirion Polty was the Bullfrogs’ top pass catcher. Polty hauled in seven passes for 178 yards and scores of 40, 28, and 57 yards.

Polty’s last score, a 57-yarder, helped Lake Worth close to within 43-41 with 5:35 to play.

Trailing 28-21 at halftime, McGregor outscored Lake Worth 21-6 to take a 43-34 lead with 6:54 to play.

The Bulldogs (0-1) scored on a 43-yard fumble return by Reese Huffman, a 34-yard pass from McDaniel to Chad Lorenz, and a 3-yard pass from McDaniel to Cooper Burgess.

The Bullfrogs (1-0) added a 4-yard scoring run by Kamron Kimble that was set up by a 57-yard interception return by Isiah Hall to the Bulldogs 9.

McDaniel had a good showing for McGregor with four TDs and 297 yards passing. Dayton Threadgill caught four passes for 135 yards with scores of 30 and 73 yards.

The teams combined for 838 yards of offense (McGregor 475 yards, Lake Worth 363 yards.)

The game gave fans a chance to forget about the coronavirus pandemic for a few hours, but they were poignantly reminded how things have changed when the teams lined up after the game on opposing 45-yard lines and walked parallel acknowledging a game well played instead of the usual post-game handshakes.

Lake Worth had a good crowd even with COVID-19 restrictions that had every other row in the stadium blocked off with red tape. Anyone in the crowd over the age of 10 had to wear a mask unless they were eating or drinking.

Both teams struggled on their first possession then combined for 49 first-half points that left Lake Worth ahead 28-21 at halftime.

Welch completed 10 of 19 passes for 223 yards and four TDs in the first half. Polty nabbed scoring strikes of 40 and 28 yards. Kimble caught a 28-yard TD pass and Fulkerson scored on a 15-yarder that gave the Bullfrogs a 7-point advantage.

McGregor’s McDaniel accounted for a pair of TD passes in the first half. The first was a 30-yard pass to Threadgill on third-and-7. Threadgill gave McGregor a 14-7 lead with a 73-yard TD catch.

The Bulldogs tied the game at 21 on a 2-yard run by Koby Reineke.

This story was originally published August 29, 2020 at 12:08 AM.