The King’s Fork Bulldogs looked like they might have a fight on their hands early, but a pick six and a strong second half gave them a 39-7 homecoming night victory over Great Bridge.

Bulldogs head coach Joe Jones had his seniors in mind given the night’s momentous setting.

“A lot of those guys could end up playing at the next level,” he said, “but this is their last homecoming game ever and they get to go out with a bang.”

KF junior quarterback Uriah Adams started off the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown seven minutes into the game.

The Wildcats had their next drive cut short when senior defensive back Davon Grayson tipped a pass and senior linebacker TC Livingston intercepted it. The Bulldogs’ offense turned it into a 35-yard Austin Wall field goal.

Then, things got tense. Great Bridge returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

“We had two good drives,” Jones said, “we got a field goal, we had 10-0, then you give them something, you let them breathe again. Then, you’re in a dog fight and the next thing you know they got the ball, fourth down, down here with a chance to take the lead.”

It is moments like this that the Bulldogs have learned to be thankful for senior defensive back Charles Clark.

“And you know, believe it or not,” Jones said, “I was on the sideline and Coach Froemel was there and I said, ‘Man, now would be a great time for a pick six,’ and I looked up and…”

Clark did just that, suddenly propelling King’s Fork to a 17-7 cushion.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Jones said. “He’s just got a lot of good natural instincts.”

“It was just a big momentum change,” Clark said, “because really, right then, I did think that it was going to be a hard fight.”

Shortly thereafter, the Bulldogs had another chance to score when Uriah Adams made a judgment call.

“It was at the end of the half when we went for it instead of trying to kick the field goal,” Jones said. “We were going to run the option and he thought he saw the sneak there.”

It did not work out, and Adams heard about it from the coaches during halftime. Meanwhile, during the halftime festivities, senior slotback Devin Taylor was named homecoming king.

About four minutes into the second half, Clark scored his second touchdown of the night on a four-yard run and followed it up with a two-point conversion to bring the score to 25-7.

It did not take long for the defense to regain possession and that is when the homecoming king’s night kicked into an even higher gear. He took a shovel pass from Adams and turned it into an 11-yard touchdown.

In the fourth quarter, he scored on a 40-yard catch-and-run from senior quarterback BoManley Lawrence.

Taylor has not gotten many touches because Division I recruits Clark and Grayson are playing in front of him, but he felt no less responsibility to answer the call when asked.

“We’re trying to be a playoff team this year,” he said, “so everybody got to put it in, whether you’re a first string, second string, you just got to put points on the board.”

The homecoming king led the team in rushing with 10 carries for 105 yards.

“Oh, it was great, man, for a senior to do that on homecoming,” Jones said. “He did a great job and he’ll never forget this.”

Thanks in large part to frequent use of the shovel pass, Adams compiled an impressive stat line, going 20 for 25 for 237 yards and a touchdown pass.

“I was proud of Uriah as a quarterback and a leader,” Jones said. “He did a good job because he took a little bit of heat at halftime on that last play before the half, but he responded like I knew he would.”

King’s Fork (4-0, 3-0) will go to Western Branch (4-0, 3-0) next Friday.