This Bandera Bulldog news & photos are brought to you by:
|
|
|
Download & Print
Photos by Andrew Coloney and Nicole Flowers
September 16, 2024
Lytle storms back to stun Bulldogs
By Brady Keane
BISD Assistant Football Coach
The Bandera Prophet
After a red-hot start against Lytle Friday Night, the Bandera varsity football team fell just short of its third straight win to open the 2024 season as the Pirates fought back and held on for a 24-21 win at Bulldog Stadium.
The Bulldogs outgained Lytle 387-261 and held the Pirates to 1-for-12 on third down conversions, but a few costly mistakes down the stretch prevented Bandera from extending its regular season winning streak.
“The little things matter,” Bandera Head Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “Lots of little things became big things on Friday night. We will get better from this loss but there’s no doubt it was a tough one to swallow.”
Bandera jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after a quick three and out forced by the Bulldogs’ defense led to a 7-play, 53-yard scoring drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dylan Peace to junior wide receiver Jeffry Thomas. Another three and out followed by a high snap on Lytle’s punt attempt set up a quick scoring drive and a 5-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Breydan Gherman, giving Bandera a two-score lead with 4:46 remaining in the first.
After the Bulldogs defense forced another quick three and out, the Pirates finally got their first first down of the game on their fourth possession, but punted again before crossing midfield. Lytle didn’t cross the 50-yard line until the 30 seconds of the second quarter, when the Pirates capitalized on a Bandera turnover and scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining before the half.
Sam Snavely, Jonah Klein and West Cloudt combined for a tackle for loss after a bad snap on the extra point attempt, and the Bulldogs led 14-6 at the break.
Bandera overcame the momentum swing early in the third quarter, as a 41-yard kickoff return from Ibraham MacNeil set the offense up in Lytle territory. Gherman appeared to score on a 40-yard touchdown run two plays later, but was ruled out of bounds at the 14-yard line. An apparent touchdown catch from junior h-back Benton Cloudt was then ruled incomplete, and the Pirates took over deep in their own territory.
The teams exchanged scoreless possessions for the most of the third quarter until Lytle scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining in the third. Kenneth Seth and Beto Rodrigues combined to make a tackle short of the goal line on the 2 point conversion, and Bandera took a 14-12 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs took the ensuing possession deep into Lytle territory after a 21-yard pass from Peace to MacNeil, and a pair of runs from Peace. But Bandera turned the ball over on downs at the 14-yard line after coming up just a yard short of a first down conversion. Jackson Satterfield blocked a punt on Lytle’s next drive, again setting the Bulldogs up in scoring range, but the Pirates held strong and prevented Bandera from extending its lead.
Lytle took its first lead of the night on a 90-yard touchdown pass two plays later. Gavin Spruell recovered a fumble on the 2 pt conversion, but the Pirates led 18-14 with 6:35 remaining. Lytle extended the lead to 24-14 after an interception return for a touchdown at the 4:08 mark.
The Bulldogs responded quickly, using a 27-yard pass from Peace to Thomas to set up a 27-yard touchdown run from Gherman. Bandera was unable to recover the onside kick, and while the defense forced another Lytle punt, the Bulldogs’ own comeback effort ran out of time in the final seconds as the Pirates held on for the win.
Gherman finished with a career high 139 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries for the Bandera offense while Peace added 214 total yards and a touchdown. Thomas had seven catches for 69 yards and a score, MacNeil had three catches for 59 yards, Snavely had three catches for 49 yards and Benton Cloudt had three catches for 38 yards.
“He [Gherman] is running hard and taking care of the football,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “He can be special, and he’s only tapped the surface of how good he can be. He’s a hard worker who earns every yard he gets.”
Defensively, Bandera held Lytle to just 2.2 yards per play across 46 plays outside of the Pirates’ three passing scores. West Cloudt (10 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 PBU) and Jonah Klein (9 tackles, 2.5 TFL) were the co-defensive players of the week. The rest of the front seven, including Riley Moran (five tackles), Kenneth Seth (6 tackles), Jackson Satterfield (2 tackles, 1 TFL), Daylon Lee (2 tackles), Josh Goff (3 tackles) and Gavin Spruell (5 tackles, 0.5 TFL) dominated the line of scrimmage, and safety Dane Barnet (5 tackles) provided solid run support from the secondary.
“We played whistle to whistle,” Fontenot-Amedee said of the Bandera defense’s effort to hold Lytle in check Friday night.
The Bulldogs fell to 2-1 on the season with the loss, and will look to bounce back against San Antonio Cole on the road Friday Night. Cole is coming off a 38-17 win over San Antonio Christian, and is also 2-1 on the year with a 56-19 win over San Antonio Memorial and a 24-21 loss to Stockdale.
“Cole holds a special place in my heart,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “I loved working there, existing to serve the military child. Those were great years for my family. That being said we have to focus on playing every snap whistle to whistle and eliminating mistakes to beat a good Cole football team.
“Cole has an explosive offense. They have also played good defense this year. They are a tough opponent. I expect a packed crowd at Cole High School on Friday. They can expect a bunch of soldiers in the crowd yelling and screaming. We need our fans to show up and get their money signs up on third down, and 4s up in the 4th! Our boys need a supportive crowd in a hostile atmosphere. I’m challenging our fans to show up and be loud for their Bulldogs!”
The Bulldogs outgained Lytle 387-261 and held the Pirates to 1-for-12 on third down conversions, but a few costly mistakes down the stretch prevented Bandera from extending its regular season winning streak.
“The little things matter,” Bandera Head Coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “Lots of little things became big things on Friday night. We will get better from this loss but there’s no doubt it was a tough one to swallow.”
Bandera jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after a quick three and out forced by the Bulldogs’ defense led to a 7-play, 53-yard scoring drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dylan Peace to junior wide receiver Jeffry Thomas. Another three and out followed by a high snap on Lytle’s punt attempt set up a quick scoring drive and a 5-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Breydan Gherman, giving Bandera a two-score lead with 4:46 remaining in the first.
After the Bulldogs defense forced another quick three and out, the Pirates finally got their first first down of the game on their fourth possession, but punted again before crossing midfield. Lytle didn’t cross the 50-yard line until the 30 seconds of the second quarter, when the Pirates capitalized on a Bandera turnover and scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining before the half.
Sam Snavely, Jonah Klein and West Cloudt combined for a tackle for loss after a bad snap on the extra point attempt, and the Bulldogs led 14-6 at the break.
Bandera overcame the momentum swing early in the third quarter, as a 41-yard kickoff return from Ibraham MacNeil set the offense up in Lytle territory. Gherman appeared to score on a 40-yard touchdown run two plays later, but was ruled out of bounds at the 14-yard line. An apparent touchdown catch from junior h-back Benton Cloudt was then ruled incomplete, and the Pirates took over deep in their own territory.
The teams exchanged scoreless possessions for the most of the third quarter until Lytle scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining in the third. Kenneth Seth and Beto Rodrigues combined to make a tackle short of the goal line on the 2 point conversion, and Bandera took a 14-12 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs took the ensuing possession deep into Lytle territory after a 21-yard pass from Peace to MacNeil, and a pair of runs from Peace. But Bandera turned the ball over on downs at the 14-yard line after coming up just a yard short of a first down conversion. Jackson Satterfield blocked a punt on Lytle’s next drive, again setting the Bulldogs up in scoring range, but the Pirates held strong and prevented Bandera from extending its lead.
Lytle took its first lead of the night on a 90-yard touchdown pass two plays later. Gavin Spruell recovered a fumble on the 2 pt conversion, but the Pirates led 18-14 with 6:35 remaining. Lytle extended the lead to 24-14 after an interception return for a touchdown at the 4:08 mark.
The Bulldogs responded quickly, using a 27-yard pass from Peace to Thomas to set up a 27-yard touchdown run from Gherman. Bandera was unable to recover the onside kick, and while the defense forced another Lytle punt, the Bulldogs’ own comeback effort ran out of time in the final seconds as the Pirates held on for the win.
Gherman finished with a career high 139 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries for the Bandera offense while Peace added 214 total yards and a touchdown. Thomas had seven catches for 69 yards and a score, MacNeil had three catches for 59 yards, Snavely had three catches for 49 yards and Benton Cloudt had three catches for 38 yards.
“He [Gherman] is running hard and taking care of the football,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “He can be special, and he’s only tapped the surface of how good he can be. He’s a hard worker who earns every yard he gets.”
Defensively, Bandera held Lytle to just 2.2 yards per play across 46 plays outside of the Pirates’ three passing scores. West Cloudt (10 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 PBU) and Jonah Klein (9 tackles, 2.5 TFL) were the co-defensive players of the week. The rest of the front seven, including Riley Moran (five tackles), Kenneth Seth (6 tackles), Jackson Satterfield (2 tackles, 1 TFL), Daylon Lee (2 tackles), Josh Goff (3 tackles) and Gavin Spruell (5 tackles, 0.5 TFL) dominated the line of scrimmage, and safety Dane Barnet (5 tackles) provided solid run support from the secondary.
“We played whistle to whistle,” Fontenot-Amedee said of the Bandera defense’s effort to hold Lytle in check Friday night.
The Bulldogs fell to 2-1 on the season with the loss, and will look to bounce back against San Antonio Cole on the road Friday Night. Cole is coming off a 38-17 win over San Antonio Christian, and is also 2-1 on the year with a 56-19 win over San Antonio Memorial and a 24-21 loss to Stockdale.
“Cole holds a special place in my heart,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “I loved working there, existing to serve the military child. Those were great years for my family. That being said we have to focus on playing every snap whistle to whistle and eliminating mistakes to beat a good Cole football team.
“Cole has an explosive offense. They have also played good defense this year. They are a tough opponent. I expect a packed crowd at Cole High School on Friday. They can expect a bunch of soldiers in the crowd yelling and screaming. We need our fans to show up and get their money signs up on third down, and 4s up in the 4th! Our boys need a supportive crowd in a hostile atmosphere. I’m challenging our fans to show up and be loud for their Bulldogs!”