Bulldogs improve against undefeated Butler

The ElDo Bulldogs squared off against an undefeated Butler Bear team for a share of the OHC Title. It was a tough battle against both the opposing team and Missouri weather. With winds gusting up to 45 mph it proved to be a task in itself. Coach Beckner said, “It was a tough game by itself, add the wind, it changes the game completely. They were a tough, physical team but I thought we matched their physicalness and out matched it at times. You could see our teams progress from the past couple weeks. I believe 4 weeks ago the game could have gotten out of hand, but our kids kept battling and gave themselves an opportunity in the 4th quarter.”

The defense had one of their better games of the season against a run heavy Bear attack. “All week we stressed the importance of third down. We had to convert when we were on offense and stop them defensively. The boys did a good job for most of the game. We just needed it a couple more times and fell short.” Trey Graves had 17 tackles and Levi Thomas followed with 12. “I was extremely proud of the defensive line, they battled and got beat up and laid some really big hits. Anytime a DT has 12 tackles, they are doing something special. Payton Green also played extremely well, along with Jake Cooper and Alex Horton”

On offense the wind caused the Bulldog offense to be limited at times throwing the ball. “It is hard to call passing plays when the wind is blowing so hard, the snap to the QB is affected. But we were still able to move the chains at times when we needed to. Landon Murry had another good game as well as Gaven Morgan running the ball. We had a couple turnovers at costly moments in the game Butler was able to capitalize on that were a big difference in the game.”

“I love this team and love coaching these kids, I told them after the game no where else I would rather be than their head coach. We are going to continue to work hard and get better and prepare for another really good opponent in Fair Grove. We are still playing for something (better seed in districts) so it’s crucial we ‘stay the course’’

The Bulldogs will take on Fair Grove this Friday night at the dog pound with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Come out and support these young men for their last regular season game. The people in stands matter during the game as the players feed off that energy, so come loud and be proud.