MINT HILL, NC – The Butler Bulldogs, coming off a last-minute loss to Myers Park last week, looked tuned up and ready for their arch-rivals the Independence Patriots on Friday night and came away with a 42-0 conference win on their senior night.

The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown with 9:20 left in the first quarter.  After Butler’s touchdown, neither team could mount any offense, and the quarter ended with Butler leading Indy 7-0.

In the second quarter, Indy’s Arnold Taylor passed to Cyrus Sanders getting the ball down to Butler’s 7-yard line.  But the Bulldogs’ defense held, and Butler took over on downs on their own 4-yard line with 5:38 left in the first half.

Butler moved the ball down the field to Indy’s 11-yard line and scored on a pass into the end zone making the score 14-0 with 1:07 showing on the clock.

The Patriots fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Bulldogs recovered on Indy’s 8-yard line.  With 36.6 seconds left in the half, Butler pushed the ball into the end zone and took a 21-0 half-time lead.

The Patriots received the second-half kick off on their own 20-yard line and moved the ball out to the 40-yard line before having to punt.  Indy’s punter Alex Collins pinned the Bulldogs back on its own 9-yard line with 9:41 to go in the third quarter.   But Butler’s offense drove the ball down the field for the score with 6:43 left in the period to take a 28-0 lead.

Butler’s kickoff was ruled dead in the end zone, and Indy took over on its own 20-yard line where Indy’s offense started their second drive of the night.

Indy’s quarterback Arnold Taylor got the offense moving with a pass to Divine Allah for a first down.  After Bryson Tisdale picked up another first down, Amari Hakeem ran the ball down to Butler’s 3-yard line.  However, the Bulldogs held, and Indy turned the ball over on downs on its 6-yard line with 2:49 remaining in the third.  Indy’s defense forced the Bulldogs to punt and the Patriots got the ball back on Butler’s 41-yard line.  After Arnold Taylor completed a pass to Bryson Tisdale for a first down, Taylor’s next pass was intercepted at Butler’s 15-yard line and returned to its own 28-yard line as the third quarter came to an end.

With 8:11 to go in the final period, the Bulldogs scored on a quarterback keeper around the left end to make the score 35-0.  The Bulldogs were not finished with their arch-rivals.  With 2:45 left in the game, Butler scored for the final time in the contest to make the final score 42-0.

In the third loss of this shortened season, the Patriots posted 231 yards of total offense with 198 passing and 33 yards rushing.