Bulldog 8th grade teams take on Hawks

By Coach Mike Lenz

The Bandera Bulldogs 8th grade B team played the Mountain Valley Hawks Thursday, Oct. 18. A defensive battle found the Bulldogs just a little short at the final buzzer, with the Hawks winning, 8-6.
The Bulldogs started the battle when Nathaniel Janell took the opening kick-off and dashed up the field to the 25-yard line before being brought down.
The Bulldogs offense took the field and drove to the 45 before being forced to punt the ball away. The Hawks gathered their wits and prepared to drive, but linebackers Colton Carvahall and Glen Jones stopped the running game and forced a turnover.
Quarterback Jack Junker dumped the ball off to halfbacks Janell and Nicklas Aguirre for short gains.
The game seesawed for the bulk of the first half until the Hawks threw a deep pass , taking the top off of the Bulldogs' defense for a TD. The Hawks followed up with the 2-point conversion. Linemen Josh Tarr, Christopher Reeves, Edward Ramirez, and Dustin Parody blocked to help Janell rush 75 yards into the end zone for the first score of the night for the Bulldogs to end the first half with the score 8-6, Mountain Valley.
In the second half, secondary defensive men Trevor Karnes, Tyler Weber, Junker, Austin Wilson and Janell stopped several pass attempts by adjusting to the ball and getting a hand in front of it. The Bulldogs formed a wall and stopped the Hawks from scoring several times while in the red zone. Yet the Bulldogs could not score either, leaving the score 8-6 Mountain Valley to end the game.
The Bulldog 8th grade A team also started their game with some shock and awe. Jacob Kimbrel caught the opening kick and darted up the field. The Bulldogs drove down field and scored on a 30-yard run from Cody Cardenas.
Linebackers Kimbrel and Cardenas stopped several run attacks from the Hawks. Strong safety Trevor Leggett made several ferocious hits on Mountain Valley's running backs while Seth Johnson achieved two sacks.
On offense, Leggett scored a 27-yard touchdown thanks to the tremendous effort of linemen Carson Wilke, Josh Jaur, Joseph Sanchez, Johnson and Justin Garza blocking. The Bulldogs were unable to score the 2-point conversions.
Although the Bulldogs put up a good fight, the Hawks scored repeatedly to wrap up the game with the win, 28-12.