The El Dorado Springs Bulldogs traveled to Pierce City on Friday night to take on the sixth ranked and undefeated Eagles but came up short 27-20. Yes, the Eagles won, but the Bulldogs ruffled their feathers.

Pierce City began the night by receiving the kickoff and the Eagle returner made his way 30 yards up the field before being tackled at the 49-yard line. On the first play of the game, the Eagles used a half back pass to connect on a 51-yard touchdown giving Pierce City the 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs then went on the attack and on their fifth play of the game, scored on a Tanner Witt 39-yard run. Jake Schieffer added the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs the 8-7 lead.

The Eagles then used a 5-play drive of their own to score from 57-yards out on a run which  gave Pierce City a 14-8 advantage.

The Bulldogs came right back with a 9-play scoring drive highlighted by a 39-yard pass from Trey Babcock to Shelby McKinney and capped with a touchdown pass from Babcock to Trenton Hardie to pull ElDo even with the Eagles, 14-14, which is how the first quarter would come to an end.

In the second quarter, both defenses stiffened and each team traded punts. At one point, the Bulldogs had a 35-yard run by Witt down to the Eagles 13-yard line but the play was negated by a phantom holding call. On the last play of the half, Witt would added some excitement as he broke down the sideline for a 26-yard gain before finally being shoved out of bounds, keeping the game knotted up at 14-14.

ElDo would begin the second half with the ball but their first drive stalled out at midfield and Pierce City took over. The Eagles used a 9-play drive before finding their way into the endzone to take a 21-14 lead. The Bulldogs immediately responded with a 9-play, 68-yard drive of their own that saw Hardie dash into the endzone from 20 yards out to close the gap to 21-20, which is how the 3rd quarter ended.

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles drove the length of the field in 12 plays to go up 27-20, but the ensuing PAT was blocked by Colton Collins.

The Bulldogs offense had an opportunity to tie the game with one last drive but the drive stalled out at the Pierce City 47 and the Eagles took over on downs, where they kneeled the ball, ending the game 27-20.

The Bulldogs (4-4) next host Skyline to finish the regular season at 7 p.m. on Friday night after Senior Night which will begin at 6:30.

From the stat sheet, on offense, behind the unsung heroes of the offensive line, Tanner Witt gained 170 yards and scored one TD. Pierce City keyed on Trenton Hardie and held him to 49 yards on 18 attempts and one rushing TD. Hardie scored another TD on a 10 yard pass from Trey Babcock. Jake Schieffer carried the ball nine times for 41 yards and a two-point conversion. Babcock rushed two times for two yard. Seth McKinney ran once for six yard.

Passing, Trey Babcock completed four of the seven passes he attempted for 53 yards, one TD and one interception.

On defense, in alphabetical order, Trey Babcock made one tackle as did Clayton Collins. Colton Collins had five tackles and deflected a pass. Dylan Gallette made four tackles and had 1.5 TFL (tackle for a loss). Wyatt Graves made three tackles, forced a fumble and deflected at pass. Trenton Hardie had one tackle. Blake Holder made seven tackles and had 2.5 TFL. Brayden Housh made five tackles and recovered a fumble. Keilan Jaques had 10 tackles and two TFL. Dakota Long made nine tackles. Bradley McCullick had one and Dagan McIntire made two. Shelby McKinney had five and half a TFL. Kaleb Raff made one. Jake Schieffer had 10 tackles and 1.5 TFL. Tanner Witt made three and one TFL.

BACKS BEST FRIENDS – Notice that between the offensive backs and the defensive line that is trying to stop them, you always find the offensive line, the unsung heroes. There are stats for the backs and for defensive players but none for the offensive line. Here is the Bulldog group getting ready to go to work from left) the starting offensive line and the backs they protect: Dylan Gallette – OL, Dagan McIntire, Blake Holder – OL, Jordan Gallette – OL, Trey Babcock – QB, Wyatt Graves – OL, Bryson Rader – OL and Shelby McKinney – TE. Photo by Kerri Radar.

 

QUICK WITT – Tanner Witt (No. 15) was the leading ground gainer for the Bulldogs in their game against the Pierce City Eagles last Friday night in Pierce City. Tanner gained 170 yards on 18 carries and scored one TD. Another long gain, 35 yards down to the Pierce City 13 yard line that was negated by a holding call that the official did not make until he was 10 yards down the field and no one else saw. Photo by Kerri Radar.