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November 11, 2021
Bulldogs headed to playoffs once again
Second time in three years
By Chris Darus
The Bandera Prophet
For only the second time since 2009, Bandera has stamped its ticket to the UIL playoffs, this time with a 48-9 win over the Pearsall Mavericks Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
Bandera was in a must win situation and played like it, scoring early and often while the Bulldog defense did their job keeping the Mavericks off the scoreboard until late in the game.
For many seniors on the team, a playoff berth for two of the four years of being a Bulldog is a big deal, it has been over a decade since a varsity Bulldog could say the same.
Bandera charged out to a big lead early, scoring on two rushes from Brock Johnson and two PATs from Beto Muzquiz in the first quarter.
Pearsall’s first score was courtesy of the Bulldogs when an errant snap sailed over Brock Johnsons head while Bandera was stalled deep in the Bulldog end of the field.
In a heads up play, Johnson helped the ball out of the end zone by batting it with his hand to give Pearsall a safety to make it 14-2.
Bandera scored 20 more unanswered points before halftime, a fumble recovery lead to a 21 yard touchdown reception to a wide open Jesse Cardenas, a 10 yard scamper by Tyler Moore to score and another Brock Johnson rush, this a five yarder to take a 34-2 lead into halftime.
Bandera would score twice in the second half on a Moore rush and Johnson’s fourth rushing score of the night, but Pearsall did find the end zone late in the game on a short rush late in the fourth.
Bandera amassed 482 yards of offense, 107 in the air and 375 on the ground, 217 of them from Johnson on 23 carries. Moore added 100 yards rushing on 10 carries and Ethan Rutherford and Kevin Rodriguez added another 58 yards between them.
Defensively, the Bulldogs did almost everything right, keeping the Mavericks in check for all but that late score and wreaking havoc on the Maverick offense. Issac Martinez and Rodriguez led the Bulldogs with eight and seven solo tackles respectively.
“It was good to see all three sides, offense, defense and special teams, fare well. They did what they are supposed to do and played good and we are going to the playoffs. I am proud of the guys and happy for the seniors getting back to the playoffs. The younger guys will get that playoff experience that will get them wanting it again,” coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
Looking forward to Fridays first round playoff game against 9-1(7-0) Sinton, the District 16-4AD2 champs, the Bulldog defense will be tested and hard.
Sinton is on a seven game win streak, their only loss was to CC Miller, a 34-30 decision in week three of the season.
The Pirates, currently ranked number 20 in the MaxPreps state rankings, have rushed for almost 2900 yards this year, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and as a team, average 15.1 yards pre catch.
“Sinton is a good football team, they are good on both sides of the ball and don’t have any areas that are venerable. Their QB is dynamic, he runs and throws the ball well, they run good timing routes and as a team, they play football like it should be, fast and wide open. They do a good job defensively, they push people around, fly to the ball and play to the whistle, just a well coached team all around,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
The game will be at Jourdanton Indian Stadium, Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“We appreciate everyone that has supported us this season and hope to see lots of Bandera folks in Jourdanton Friday night,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
Pearsall at Bandera
Bandera stats:
Passing_ T. Moore, 5-11-107-0-1
Rushing: B. Johnson, 24-217, T. Moore, 10-100, K. Rodriguez, 6-25, E. Rutherford, 4-33
Receiving: B. Miller, 3-62, A. Dirck, 1-24, J. Cardenas, 1-21
Tackles: I. Martinez, 8, K. Rodriguez, 7, E. Rutherford, 4, M. Staton, 4,J. Cardenas, 3, D. Gherman, 3, D. Guerra, 3, K. Morgan, 3, B. Miller, 3,
Assists: M. Staton, 6, J. Cabasos, 5, K. Rodriguez, 3, I. Martinez, 3, K. Morgan, 3
Bandera was in a must win situation and played like it, scoring early and often while the Bulldog defense did their job keeping the Mavericks off the scoreboard until late in the game.
For many seniors on the team, a playoff berth for two of the four years of being a Bulldog is a big deal, it has been over a decade since a varsity Bulldog could say the same.
Bandera charged out to a big lead early, scoring on two rushes from Brock Johnson and two PATs from Beto Muzquiz in the first quarter.
Pearsall’s first score was courtesy of the Bulldogs when an errant snap sailed over Brock Johnsons head while Bandera was stalled deep in the Bulldog end of the field.
In a heads up play, Johnson helped the ball out of the end zone by batting it with his hand to give Pearsall a safety to make it 14-2.
Bandera scored 20 more unanswered points before halftime, a fumble recovery lead to a 21 yard touchdown reception to a wide open Jesse Cardenas, a 10 yard scamper by Tyler Moore to score and another Brock Johnson rush, this a five yarder to take a 34-2 lead into halftime.
Bandera would score twice in the second half on a Moore rush and Johnson’s fourth rushing score of the night, but Pearsall did find the end zone late in the game on a short rush late in the fourth.
Bandera amassed 482 yards of offense, 107 in the air and 375 on the ground, 217 of them from Johnson on 23 carries. Moore added 100 yards rushing on 10 carries and Ethan Rutherford and Kevin Rodriguez added another 58 yards between them.
Defensively, the Bulldogs did almost everything right, keeping the Mavericks in check for all but that late score and wreaking havoc on the Maverick offense. Issac Martinez and Rodriguez led the Bulldogs with eight and seven solo tackles respectively.
“It was good to see all three sides, offense, defense and special teams, fare well. They did what they are supposed to do and played good and we are going to the playoffs. I am proud of the guys and happy for the seniors getting back to the playoffs. The younger guys will get that playoff experience that will get them wanting it again,” coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
Looking forward to Fridays first round playoff game against 9-1(7-0) Sinton, the District 16-4AD2 champs, the Bulldog defense will be tested and hard.
Sinton is on a seven game win streak, their only loss was to CC Miller, a 34-30 decision in week three of the season.
The Pirates, currently ranked number 20 in the MaxPreps state rankings, have rushed for almost 2900 yards this year, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and as a team, average 15.1 yards pre catch.
“Sinton is a good football team, they are good on both sides of the ball and don’t have any areas that are venerable. Their QB is dynamic, he runs and throws the ball well, they run good timing routes and as a team, they play football like it should be, fast and wide open. They do a good job defensively, they push people around, fly to the ball and play to the whistle, just a well coached team all around,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
The game will be at Jourdanton Indian Stadium, Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“We appreciate everyone that has supported us this season and hope to see lots of Bandera folks in Jourdanton Friday night,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
Pearsall at Bandera
Bandera stats:
Passing_ T. Moore, 5-11-107-0-1
Rushing: B. Johnson, 24-217, T. Moore, 10-100, K. Rodriguez, 6-25, E. Rutherford, 4-33
Receiving: B. Miller, 3-62, A. Dirck, 1-24, J. Cardenas, 1-21
Tackles: I. Martinez, 8, K. Rodriguez, 7, E. Rutherford, 4, M. Staton, 4,J. Cardenas, 3, D. Gherman, 3, D. Guerra, 3, K. Morgan, 3, B. Miller, 3,
Assists: M. Staton, 6, J. Cabasos, 5, K. Rodriguez, 3, I. Martinez, 3, K. Morgan, 3