September 4, 2023
Bulldogs pull away late in home win over Cotulla
By Brady Keane
BISD Assistant Football Coach
The Bandera Prophet
Corben Gonzales had a pair of contested touchdown passes, Jesse Cardenas rushed for 213 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, and the Bandera defense held Cotulla to just 179 yards of total offense as the Bulldogs cruised to a 28-14 win in the home opener at Bulldog Stadium.
The win continued Bandera’s best start since the 2019 season as the Bulldogs moved to 2-0 with a big crowd on hand.
“First of all, I want to thank our community for coming out, staying late and being loud,” Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “After the first kick off we had great effort the rest of the game. We haven’t arrived yet but we will continue to improve each week.”
The Bulldogs faced adversity from the get go as Cotulla returned the game’s opening kickoff 82 yards to the end zone. It marked the first time this season that Bandera faced a deficit, as the Cowboys maintained the 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs managed to tie things up with 6:23 remaining in the second after a three-and-out from the defense led to an efficient seven play drive that was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cardenas to Gonzales. Safety Dylan Gherman forced a fumble on the Cowboys’ ensuing offensive drive that was recovered by sophomore Ibraham MacNeil, but the Bulldogs quickly turned it back over to Cotulla leading to a short 4-yard TD run that made it 14-7 in favor of the Cowboys.
Fortunately, Bandera had a lot of success in its two-minute offense. The Bulldogs effectively moved the ball into scoring position with a pair of runs from Cardenas, and Cardenas connected with sophomore Jeffry Thomas on a 35-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the second quarter to make it 14-14 entering the halftime break.
“That last second touchdown was awesome,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “It gave us all the momentum heading into the 3rd quarter. We made some adjustments to run the ball more effectively in the second half and defensively it was more about continuing to read our keys and playing good defense.”
The momentum captured from that highlight reel play carried into the second half as Bandera held the Cowboys scoreless and added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Senior Jorge Cabasos had a key tackle in the open field on third down for the Bulldogs and junior Gavin Spruell had a chase down tackle in the red zone to help Bandera get a key stop as well.
The go-ahead touchdown came on a broken play, as Cardenas picked up a low snap and evaded the Cotulla defense while reversing field on a 36-yard touchdown run. Cardenas then put the final touches on the win with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gonzales in the right corner of the end zone.
“Our line gave us time to get the ball off and Jesse put it where it needed to be, so we were able to make big plays when it mattered,” Gonzales said. “It was exciting, and we’re looking forward to building on that next week.”
Cardenas again paced the Bulldogs’ offense overall as he rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries while completing 5-of-11 passes for 70 yards and three touchdowns. Juan Cabrera added 57 yards rushing to complement Cardenas’ effort, while Gonzales (four catches, 35 yards, two TDs) and Thomas (one catch, 35 yards, 1 TD) led the way on the perimeter.
Defensively, Daniel Freeman had a team-high 10 tackles (1 TFL), Carson Powers had eight tackles (1 TFL), Eric Straeter had six tackles, Gavin Spruell had seven tackles, Jorge Cabasos had seven tackles, Dylan Gherman had eight tackles and a forced fumble, and Ibraham MacNeil had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
“Our run fits were solid,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our defense has only given up two scores through two games. That’s good stuff. We played really well in the box and caused two turnovers on the night.”
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to San Antonio Kennedy as the Bulldogs look to continue their unbeaten start to the 2023 season. The Rockets are 1-1 on the season with a 34-24 win over San Antonio Edison and a 14-7 loss to Lytle. Kickoff time is set for 7pm Friday, with homecoming festivities set to occur before the game and during halftime.
“We’ve just begun preparing for Kennedy but it looks like another tough opponent,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our kids are fired up to play at home, especially for homecoming. There’s nothing better than seeing the home stands full and the fence line packed for homecoming in Bandera.”
JV Football Ties in Cotulla
The Bandera JV football team walked away with a 21-21 tie against Cotulla after a highly contested game that was back-and-forth from the start.
The Bulldogs put themselves in an early hole as the Cowboys scored on their first offensive play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. Bandera responded well, driving 10 plays and getting into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run from Breydan Gherman. The Bulldogs took the lead after forcing a quick three-and-out and scoring on a 12-yard pass from Dalton Parks to Riley Moran.
The Cowboys closed the gap in the second half and made it 14-13 after putting together a long scoring drive, but Bandera regained control at 21-13 after a 14-yard touchdown pass from Parks to Ruffin Scartocci with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Cotulla went into its back of tricks down the stretch, though, tying the game with under a minute to go.
The JV Bulldogs moved to 1-0-1 on the season with the tie and will look to get back in the win column with a road game at San Antonio Kennedy on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Edgewood ISD Veterans Stadium.
The win continued Bandera’s best start since the 2019 season as the Bulldogs moved to 2-0 with a big crowd on hand.
“First of all, I want to thank our community for coming out, staying late and being loud,” Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “After the first kick off we had great effort the rest of the game. We haven’t arrived yet but we will continue to improve each week.”
The Bulldogs faced adversity from the get go as Cotulla returned the game’s opening kickoff 82 yards to the end zone. It marked the first time this season that Bandera faced a deficit, as the Cowboys maintained the 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs managed to tie things up with 6:23 remaining in the second after a three-and-out from the defense led to an efficient seven play drive that was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cardenas to Gonzales. Safety Dylan Gherman forced a fumble on the Cowboys’ ensuing offensive drive that was recovered by sophomore Ibraham MacNeil, but the Bulldogs quickly turned it back over to Cotulla leading to a short 4-yard TD run that made it 14-7 in favor of the Cowboys.
Fortunately, Bandera had a lot of success in its two-minute offense. The Bulldogs effectively moved the ball into scoring position with a pair of runs from Cardenas, and Cardenas connected with sophomore Jeffry Thomas on a 35-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the second quarter to make it 14-14 entering the halftime break.
“That last second touchdown was awesome,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “It gave us all the momentum heading into the 3rd quarter. We made some adjustments to run the ball more effectively in the second half and defensively it was more about continuing to read our keys and playing good defense.”
The momentum captured from that highlight reel play carried into the second half as Bandera held the Cowboys scoreless and added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Senior Jorge Cabasos had a key tackle in the open field on third down for the Bulldogs and junior Gavin Spruell had a chase down tackle in the red zone to help Bandera get a key stop as well.
The go-ahead touchdown came on a broken play, as Cardenas picked up a low snap and evaded the Cotulla defense while reversing field on a 36-yard touchdown run. Cardenas then put the final touches on the win with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gonzales in the right corner of the end zone.
“Our line gave us time to get the ball off and Jesse put it where it needed to be, so we were able to make big plays when it mattered,” Gonzales said. “It was exciting, and we’re looking forward to building on that next week.”
Cardenas again paced the Bulldogs’ offense overall as he rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries while completing 5-of-11 passes for 70 yards and three touchdowns. Juan Cabrera added 57 yards rushing to complement Cardenas’ effort, while Gonzales (four catches, 35 yards, two TDs) and Thomas (one catch, 35 yards, 1 TD) led the way on the perimeter.
Defensively, Daniel Freeman had a team-high 10 tackles (1 TFL), Carson Powers had eight tackles (1 TFL), Eric Straeter had six tackles, Gavin Spruell had seven tackles, Jorge Cabasos had seven tackles, Dylan Gherman had eight tackles and a forced fumble, and Ibraham MacNeil had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
“Our run fits were solid,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our defense has only given up two scores through two games. That’s good stuff. We played really well in the box and caused two turnovers on the night.”
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to San Antonio Kennedy as the Bulldogs look to continue their unbeaten start to the 2023 season. The Rockets are 1-1 on the season with a 34-24 win over San Antonio Edison and a 14-7 loss to Lytle. Kickoff time is set for 7pm Friday, with homecoming festivities set to occur before the game and during halftime.
“We’ve just begun preparing for Kennedy but it looks like another tough opponent,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our kids are fired up to play at home, especially for homecoming. There’s nothing better than seeing the home stands full and the fence line packed for homecoming in Bandera.”
JV Football Ties in Cotulla
The Bandera JV football team walked away with a 21-21 tie against Cotulla after a highly contested game that was back-and-forth from the start.
The Bulldogs put themselves in an early hole as the Cowboys scored on their first offensive play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. Bandera responded well, driving 10 plays and getting into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run from Breydan Gherman. The Bulldogs took the lead after forcing a quick three-and-out and scoring on a 12-yard pass from Dalton Parks to Riley Moran.
The Cowboys closed the gap in the second half and made it 14-13 after putting together a long scoring drive, but Bandera regained control at 21-13 after a 14-yard touchdown pass from Parks to Ruffin Scartocci with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Cotulla went into its back of tricks down the stretch, though, tying the game with under a minute to go.
The JV Bulldogs moved to 1-0-1 on the season with the tie and will look to get back in the win column with a road game at San Antonio Kennedy on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Edgewood ISD Veterans Stadium.