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Photos by Chris Darus
August 24, 2021
Bulldogs hitting stride in final tuneup before season
By Chris Darus
The Bandera Prophet
Bandera's JV and varsity Bulldogs took a short road trip to Natalia Thursday evening for their final scrimmage before the start of non-district this Friday.
The varsity Mustangs, 7-4 (4-2) in District 15-3AD2 play last season, went out in the second round of the playoffs and had a quite few of their players returning, and proved to be a good test for the Bulldogs.
JV
There was a sense of deja vu to start the scrimmage as the Bulldogs scored on their first play from scrimmage for the second week in a row, this time a 75 yard catch and run by Corben Gonzales from starting QB Dylan Gherman.
Bandera scored again shortly after on a short rush by Jake Lannon to finish the Bulldog scoring for the 25 play scrimmage.
Defensively, the Bulldogs kept their unscored on streak going right until the very last play when the Mustangs completed a pass in the corner of the endzone.
The JV will host Poteet at Bulldog Stadium this Thursday to open non-district play. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Varsity
Natalia proved to be a good test for the Bulldogs while Bandera was finding out what needs work going into the season.
After Bandera scored on their first set of downs, Natalia's running game, led by bruising senior RB, Gabriel Perez, really gave the Bulldog defense a good look, scoring on a pass once in the open scrimmage.
Bulldog coaches were impressed by the defensive play of first year player Kyle Morgan, Luke Barnett and Matthew Staton who, along with the rest of the defense, kept the Mustangs off the scoreboard for the two 15 minute running quarters to finish the contest.
Bandera got the ball back with 45 seconds left but Natalia intercepted a desperation pass to end the second running quarter.
"I told you these guys were a physical football team, it's hard to get this look in a practice.
We had a huge improvement from the last scrimmage and like I said, we have to get better at tackling and we have to get better at throwing and catching. We did both at times today, but we have to do it all the time.
I believe in you and this was a step in the process and we will be ready for next week. We will be physical, conditioned and disciplined. We are in good shape, we were physical at times and we were disciplined at times," coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
"Far from perfect, but I saw a lot of good things. I felt the secondary played well, they were around the ball and where they were supposed to be. Our linebackers were flying and our tackling was better," coach Manny Martinez said.
The Bulldog offense gained 208 total yards and scored once this week against a good defensive corps that hope to take Natalia into battle for their district championship.
The varsity will take another trip down the road on Friday when they visit Poteet Friday.
Poteet was 8-3 (5-1) last season and finished second in their district.
The Aggies beat Bandera by a 36-0 score last year and lost to Blanco in the first round of playoffs.
Bulldog football starts their season at 7:30 p.m., be there.
Bandera vs. Natalia
Varsity
Passing_ No stats available
Rushing_ Moore, 7-81, B. Johnson, 9-40, J. Cardenas, 4-30
Receiving_ No stats available
Tackles_ No stats available
Assists_ No stats available
The varsity Mustangs, 7-4 (4-2) in District 15-3AD2 play last season, went out in the second round of the playoffs and had a quite few of their players returning, and proved to be a good test for the Bulldogs.
JV
There was a sense of deja vu to start the scrimmage as the Bulldogs scored on their first play from scrimmage for the second week in a row, this time a 75 yard catch and run by Corben Gonzales from starting QB Dylan Gherman.
Bandera scored again shortly after on a short rush by Jake Lannon to finish the Bulldog scoring for the 25 play scrimmage.
Defensively, the Bulldogs kept their unscored on streak going right until the very last play when the Mustangs completed a pass in the corner of the endzone.
The JV will host Poteet at Bulldog Stadium this Thursday to open non-district play. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Varsity
Natalia proved to be a good test for the Bulldogs while Bandera was finding out what needs work going into the season.
After Bandera scored on their first set of downs, Natalia's running game, led by bruising senior RB, Gabriel Perez, really gave the Bulldog defense a good look, scoring on a pass once in the open scrimmage.
Bulldog coaches were impressed by the defensive play of first year player Kyle Morgan, Luke Barnett and Matthew Staton who, along with the rest of the defense, kept the Mustangs off the scoreboard for the two 15 minute running quarters to finish the contest.
Bandera got the ball back with 45 seconds left but Natalia intercepted a desperation pass to end the second running quarter.
"I told you these guys were a physical football team, it's hard to get this look in a practice.
We had a huge improvement from the last scrimmage and like I said, we have to get better at tackling and we have to get better at throwing and catching. We did both at times today, but we have to do it all the time.
I believe in you and this was a step in the process and we will be ready for next week. We will be physical, conditioned and disciplined. We are in good shape, we were physical at times and we were disciplined at times," coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
"Far from perfect, but I saw a lot of good things. I felt the secondary played well, they were around the ball and where they were supposed to be. Our linebackers were flying and our tackling was better," coach Manny Martinez said.
The Bulldog offense gained 208 total yards and scored once this week against a good defensive corps that hope to take Natalia into battle for their district championship.
The varsity will take another trip down the road on Friday when they visit Poteet Friday.
Poteet was 8-3 (5-1) last season and finished second in their district.
The Aggies beat Bandera by a 36-0 score last year and lost to Blanco in the first round of playoffs.
Bulldog football starts their season at 7:30 p.m., be there.
Bandera vs. Natalia
Varsity
Passing_ No stats available
Rushing_ Moore, 7-81, B. Johnson, 9-40, J. Cardenas, 4-30
Receiving_ No stats available
Tackles_ No stats available
Assists_ No stats available