Bulldogs move to District Semifinals

Gaven Morgan follows blockers against Clever this past Friday

The offensive line blocks for quarterback Clayton Collins

This past Friday night the El Dorado Springs football team won their first district game against the Bluejays of Clever. It was a beautiful cool evening and the Bulldogs were clicking offensively. Together they amassed more than 500 yards of total offense winning the game 52-29. Coach Beckner said, “I was happy with our offensive production but we are still falling short in some phases of the game in which we must improve if we want our season to continue and achieve our goals as a team. I tell the players every week to never take a win for granted, because no matter who you play it is hard to win a football game.”

On the defensive side of the ball the ElDo defense stymied the rushing attack of the Blue Jays but struggled to defend the air attack. “They (Clever) did a good job studying film and took advantage of some misalignments and miscommunication in our secondary. When we aligned right and played with proper technique, good things happened. I never questioned our effort but we have to be more disciplined and that falls back on me.”

Moving on in the district tournament is a step in the right direction for the program overall. Last year the Bulldogs fell in the first round to Versailes. “It is always nice to go further than you did in the previous year, however, our season goals did not state to just win round 1, but it is a step in the right direction. We told the players, everyone starts districts 0-0, it doesn’t matter what has happened in the regular season, everyone gets a second chance to do something with their season. So our goal last week in preparation was to end the week 1-0 and we did that, so I was proud of the boys for doing so.”

This week the Bulldogs will face a great challenge in traveling to Lamar on Friday in the district semi-finals. “I am very excited for this opportunity, they are a tough team with a lot of great coaches and players. I am hopeful our strength of schedule will aid in preparing us for this contest. They have built a great tradition in the past 10-15 years. They have an expectation of winning. We have to be able to get past that mentally and prepare to not only to play with them but to play and beat them.”

Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Lamar for Friday night. Come out and support your Bulldog team and help cheer them to victory. Be loud, be proud, and cheer hard! Go Dogs!