Your hometown Bulldogs squared off against the visiting Blackhawks from Adrian. It was a close contest and a very good football game. Coach Beckner said, “Man, what a game. Back and forth, of course we wanted to come out on top, but dang our boys competed.” As the final second ticked off the clock the final score read ElDo 20 – Adrian 21, which drops the Bulldogs to 1-3 on the season. Beckner added, “If you just look at the record and judge this football team, you do not know very much about football. They have progressed and gotten better each week. Our 3 losses are to teams who will be competing for a district championship in their respective classes. We want to be competing against quality teams. That is how you grow and develop a lasting program.”
It was definitely a different looking Bulldog team that showed from the previous week against Buffalo. The offense and defense were working their gameplans and the players were executing and doing their jobs. “Our coaches did a great job of getting the kids prepared this week and the kids did a great job of executing. We fell a little short a series or two and it was the difference in the ball game. But they played hard and gave themselves a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs struck first with a 7 yard run from Michael Hart and led 6-0. Adrian countered with their own score after a long defensive stand by the Bulldog defense led by multiple players having 6+ tackles on the night. With the score being tied, Adrian was building some momentum while driving the football when sophomore Randy Baker recovered a fumble from Adrian and ran 38 yards for a touchdown. Showing poise the visiting team countered once again scoring and giving the Bulldogs a long field with short time to cross it. The half ended with the score tied 14-14.
To open the second half the Blackhawks received the ball and the Bulldog defense stiffened their backs to force a turnover on downs. The offense wasted little time with Michael Hart finding the endzone for a second time on the night. This one from 8 yards out. The teams continued to battle forcing each other to punt and play a field position game. The 3rd quarter ended with the Bulldogs up 20-14. Beckner stated, “I was very happy with the way we came out at half and continued on the game plan and made the plays we needed to make. It set us up for a score and allowed our defense to keep fresh. We had a couple situations that led to Adrian getting some short fields, which is tough for any defense. That is where learning how each phase of the game is important and helps one another.”
The Bulldogs controlled the time of possession the majority of the game, however late in the 4th quarter after back to back series of having short fields, Adiran found the end zone and converted to go up 21-20 with a little over 3 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs did not waiver as they drove down to the Blackhawk 35 yard line. The drive stalled until third down, where the Dogs turned the ball over back to Adrian to close out the game. They (Adrian) then kneeled out the remaining time on the clock, winning 21-20.
It was a tough contest, and a great battle to watch. “That is what high school football is all about, solid hits, great runs, couple big throws, two quality teams battling until the end. Very proud of this team, the best is yet to come. They will keep battling.”
The Bulldogs will be at home once again this Friday playing against Summit Christian from the Lee Summit area. Kickoff is set for 7pm. Come out, BE LOUD, and cheer on your home team.
Facebook Comments