Bulldogs continue winning streak in 22-point victory
Last Friday was military appreciation night at Bulldog Stadium. The JROTC presented the colors at the start of the game, which the Bulldogs won to extend their record to 3-1. BULLETIN PHOTO/ Chuck McCollough
TIn the fourth week of the football season, the Bulldogs continued their winning streak by beating Cole 42-20.
AD/Head Football Coach Joel Fontenat-Amedee said this week’s Homecoming game against Hondo will be a big one.
“We want all of Bandera County here Friday with the excitement of a playoff game as we take on the Owls,” Fontenat- Amedee said.
The Bandera varsity football team racked up nearly 400 yards on offense and made big plays in all three phases of the game to improve to 3-1 at Bulldog Stadium last week.
The Cougars struck first with an 11-play scoring drive to open the game, but the Bulldogs answered right back with a methodical 8-play drive capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass from senior Riley Haley to junior Isaac Segura to make it 7-7.
Bandera took its first lead of the night a short time later in the first half after Isaac Martinez had a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered by Daniel Freeman. Jesse Cardenas punched in a 12-yard touchdown run three plays later, and the Bulldogs led 14-7 with 5:16 remaining in the second quarter.
Freeman came up with another big play on the Cougars’ ensuing offensive possession as a bad snap soared back into the end zone. Freeman recovered the ball for a defensive touchdown, and Bandera led 21-7 with 4:20 remaining before the half.
Cole made it a one-score game with a 28-yard with a 28-yard touchdown pass, but the Bulldogs got their fourth touchdown of the night just before the end of the second quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run from Jesse Cardenas.
After leading 28-13 at the break, Bandera maintained its momentum through the final two quarters as senior quarterback Riley Hailey connected with Alex Dirck on an 8-yard TD pass before Kevin Rodriguez punched in a 4-yard touchdown run to finish off the scoring for the night.
Jesse Cardenas finished with 25 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Bulldogs’ offense while Riley Haley completed 11-of-17 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Kevin Rodriguez had 7 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. Solomon Alexander had five catches for 106 yards, Alex Dirck had two catches for 30 yards and a touchdown, Isaac Segura had two catches for 54 yards and a touchdown, Jesse Cardenas had one catch for 19 yards and Zach Quesnot had one catch for 7 yards. Defensively, the Bulldogs held Cole to just 73 yards rushing and 143 yards through the air. Jesse Cardenas had a team-high 9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 pass break ups. Isaac Martinez had 6 tackles and a forced fumble, Eric Straeter had six tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack, Gavin Ortiz had four tackles, Daniel Freeman had 4 tackles, two TFL, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble, and Kevin Rodriguez had 5 tackles. The Bulldogs will be at home for a second consecutive week when they face Hondo on Friday. The Owls are coming off a 34-6 loss to Devine and are 1-3 with losses to Marion and Brackett by a combined three points. Hondo defeated Carrizo Springs 52-20 in Week 2.
Coach Joel Fontenat- Amedee, who once worked at Cole, talked about how he still feels.
“I love it when Cole comes here because I know that 99 percent in military learning and that we have Military Appreciation Night,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Brady Keane contributed to this story.