Friday, October 30th- The Claiborne Bulldogs were looking to finalize a great season with a win against Greenville to secure the Blue Ridge Conference regular season championship; however, the Green Devils had the same hopes and desires as well. The community had rallied behind the Bulldogs all week with signs of support and one great pep rally and bonfire on Thursday. Assisted by Giles Industries, Pizza Inn, Petty’s Wrecker Service, the CHS Boosters and many, many others the Bulldogs and fans had a great time at the pep-rally/bonfire. It was hoped that the excitement would carry over on Friday and that the Bulldogs could upset the 92nd ranked team overall in the state of Tennessee. It was evident very quickly on Friday night that perhaps one of those schools did not belong in this smaller district as the Greenville band began to file into the Bulldog football compound. As the first band member reached the visitor’s stands the last one had not even made it through the entrance gate. The band alone with its 135 or so members was bigger than the CHS football team and band combined. Still the two teams were to battle nevertheless. From the opening kickoff the game was taken over by Greenville’s great athletes. The field was wet and soggy in spots but it did not slow down the great Green Devil passing attack. Greenville passed for 241 yards on 14 completions. They also added 195 yards with the running game for a 436-yard total effort. Before the contest Greenville knew that turnovers and special teams play were going to be the keys to winning and they performed great in both areas. Greenville won the turnover battle by getting one interception and one Bulldog fumble recovery. The Bulldogs defense secured one turnover my means of a Greenville fumble. The Bulldogs ground attack leader David Fuson came into the contest with 1,438 yards on the season and added to it with a good performance. He added 78 yards to his season total finishing the regular season with 1,516 yards although he would be the first to give praise to his o-line and teammates for all the great blocking. On this night the Bulldogs rushing attack was held to 91 yards and they only passed for 36 yards against the fast Greenville defense. Compounding the Bulldogs efforts was the 7 penalties against them that set them back 75 yards. Greenville was penalized 5 times for 50 yards. The Bulldog team tried several times to rally and broke several long running plays and one long kick return only to see them called back by the yellow rag. The credit has to simply go to Greenville on this night because they were the better team throughout the contest. At times they looked like a JR College team as they passed and ran the ball into every little hole the Bulldog defense left open. The winning streak that the 2009 Bulldogs had racked up is now over at 7 but the team will hope to begin another one as it enters the playoffs. Preceding the game the Bulldog senior football players, cheerleaders, band and golf members were honored for their service. The Bulldogs will begin the playoffs on Friday night as they welcome Brainerd High School from Chattanooga into town. The Panthers defeated Austin-East earlier in the season by a score of 19-8.Kickoff is tentatively set at 7:00 p.m. instead of the normal 7:30. The 2009 Claiborne Bulldogs finished this regular season with one of the best records in Claiborne history and the fans are encouraged to once again come out and support the Bulldogs as they try to get an all-important playoff victory.