Bulldogs dash past Bruins

BRADENTON — With 247 yards rushing Friday, Bayshore again proved it’s a fantastic rushing team.

DeSoto and tailback Marcus Shaw were just a bit better in the 2009 regular season finale.

Shaw, a USF commitment and a 2,000-yard rusher each of the past two seasons, sent the host Bruins to a 35-21 defeat Friday with five touchdowns and 328 yards. The final score came on a fourth-and-2 as Shaw dashed free for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:26 in the game.

The loss prevented Bayshore from finishing the season at .500. However, losing just 11 seniors means the Bruins (4-6) expect bigger things in 2010.

“Throughout the course of the season, there were a lot of positives,” Bayshore coach Jean Gordon said. “We need that continuity to get that 6-4, 7-3 season.”

The Bruins nearly managed to pull out the win Friday. Trailing 27-21 late in the third quarter, Bayshore took over at its own 34 and put together a 14-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. The Bruins never managed to get the go-ahead score though, turning the ball over on downs. Without star tailback Alex Jackson, who didn’t attend the game due to a disciplinary issue, the Bruins attempted a reverse on fourth-and-7 and lost four yards. Shaw and the Bulldogs (6-4) answered with a 70-yard drive and Shaw’s fifth touchdown to seal the win.

Shaw scored on runs of 7 and 80 yards in the first half, but after Bayshore got an early score Dominic Everett tied the game going into halftime when he ran for a second touchdown with 8:05 left in the second quarter. Everett more than filled Jackson’s absence, rushing 34 times for 148 yards.

Shaw’s 75-yard run early in the secondhalf gave DeSoto a 20-14 lead. The missed extra point after that score came back to hurt the Bulldogs when Alex Mobley’s five-yard run and Jhonatan Bustos’ kick put them ahead by one. Yet it didn’t sting long, as Shaw ran 78 yards for a touchdown two plays later, erasing the Bruins’ only lead of the night after just 58 seconds.