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November 2, 2022
By Chris Darus
The Bandera Prophet
Bulldogs Playoff Bound
Bulldogs clinch playoff berth with 42-14 win Friday night
On the night that Bandera celebrated their only state championship in football, the current team stamped their ticket to the playoffs with a decisive 42-14 win over San Antonio’s Young Men's Leadership Academy (YMLA) at Bulldog Stadium Friday night.
Bandera started out on a roll and continued to bring the heat for the first two quarters, taking a 28-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.
After the Bulldog defense stopped the Lions on their first possession, Bandera QB, Riley Haley found Scott Perry on a 24 yard scoring strike with 4:30 left in the first. Beto Muzquiz split the uprights on the PAT to make it 7-0.
Jesse Cardenas scores on a short rush from the Wildcat to move the score to 13-0 with 43 seconds left in the first and the PAT is good.
Haley later connects with Corben Gonzales on a 29 yard catch and run down the sideline with 7:26 left in the half and a good kick makes it 21-0.
Good kick coverage from the Bulldogs keeps the Lions at their own 10 yard line and the defense steps up again to force another punt from inside the Lions 20 to give Bandera great field position.
Bandera takes over on the Lion 48 and on a third and 24, the drive ends with a Cardenas 50 yard screen pass and run, worthy of an ESPN Top Ten highlight reel, breaking numerous tackles to bring the score to 27-0. Muzquiz again makes the kick to make it 28-0 at the half.
The Lions came out in the second half and went toe to toe with the Bulldogs, with both teams scoring twice in the half, YMLA on two long passes and Bandera added to the scoreboard on another Cardenas rush of 24 yards and a Juan Cabrera six yard run with just 35 seconds left in the game, the freshman’s first varsity score.
In all, Bandera racked up 417 yards of offense, 234 on the ground and 183 through the air, in their best showing this season.
It was also Football Senior Night celebrating the 12 senior players on the team as well as senior cheerleaders and athletic trainers to make it a night to remember.
“This was a big win for us, clinching back to back playoff berths for the first time since 2009. I was so proud to have members of the 2002 state championship team back with us Friday night.
Our kids knew who a bunch of the players were, and we even had Coach Williamson finish the pre-game speech,” Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
Looking ahead, with one game left in district against Carrizo Springs there, Bandera should be the second seed for District 14-4AD2 and while the path to the playoffs is clear, the opponent is not. The Bulldogs will head north this year, so it looks like either Lago Vista or Jarrell first round, depending on the winner of their contest Friday night.
“We look forward to finishing up a great regular season at Carrizo this Friday, our kids are fired up,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
Bandera stats:
Passing: Haley, 9-15-183-3-0
Receiving: S. Perry, 3-67, Cardenas, 1-50, A. Dirck, 3-35, C. Gonzales, 2-31
Rushing: Cardenas, 22-139, J. Cabrera, 18-95
Tackles: Cardenas, 17, J. Cabasos, 12, T. Bivins, 8, D. Gherman, 8, E. Straeter, 8, G. Spruell, 5
Bandera started out on a roll and continued to bring the heat for the first two quarters, taking a 28-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.
After the Bulldog defense stopped the Lions on their first possession, Bandera QB, Riley Haley found Scott Perry on a 24 yard scoring strike with 4:30 left in the first. Beto Muzquiz split the uprights on the PAT to make it 7-0.
Jesse Cardenas scores on a short rush from the Wildcat to move the score to 13-0 with 43 seconds left in the first and the PAT is good.
Haley later connects with Corben Gonzales on a 29 yard catch and run down the sideline with 7:26 left in the half and a good kick makes it 21-0.
Good kick coverage from the Bulldogs keeps the Lions at their own 10 yard line and the defense steps up again to force another punt from inside the Lions 20 to give Bandera great field position.
Bandera takes over on the Lion 48 and on a third and 24, the drive ends with a Cardenas 50 yard screen pass and run, worthy of an ESPN Top Ten highlight reel, breaking numerous tackles to bring the score to 27-0. Muzquiz again makes the kick to make it 28-0 at the half.
The Lions came out in the second half and went toe to toe with the Bulldogs, with both teams scoring twice in the half, YMLA on two long passes and Bandera added to the scoreboard on another Cardenas rush of 24 yards and a Juan Cabrera six yard run with just 35 seconds left in the game, the freshman’s first varsity score.
In all, Bandera racked up 417 yards of offense, 234 on the ground and 183 through the air, in their best showing this season.
It was also Football Senior Night celebrating the 12 senior players on the team as well as senior cheerleaders and athletic trainers to make it a night to remember.
“This was a big win for us, clinching back to back playoff berths for the first time since 2009. I was so proud to have members of the 2002 state championship team back with us Friday night.
Our kids knew who a bunch of the players were, and we even had Coach Williamson finish the pre-game speech,” Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said.
Looking ahead, with one game left in district against Carrizo Springs there, Bandera should be the second seed for District 14-4AD2 and while the path to the playoffs is clear, the opponent is not. The Bulldogs will head north this year, so it looks like either Lago Vista or Jarrell first round, depending on the winner of their contest Friday night.
“We look forward to finishing up a great regular season at Carrizo this Friday, our kids are fired up,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
Bandera stats:
Passing: Haley, 9-15-183-3-0
Receiving: S. Perry, 3-67, Cardenas, 1-50, A. Dirck, 3-35, C. Gonzales, 2-31
Rushing: Cardenas, 22-139, J. Cabrera, 18-95
Tackles: Cardenas, 17, J. Cabasos, 12, T. Bivins, 8, D. Gherman, 8, E. Straeter, 8, G. Spruell, 5