Bulldogs slam Horizon for fourth football win
“I am very pleased with the student/athletes effort and intensity in our pre-season games, which has allowed us to get off to a 4-0 start.” stated Coach Damon Baldwin after his Ramona Bulldogs beat previously unbeaten Horizon High School 49-12.
The football game was not a contest, as Ramona scored on its first possession on a 15-yard pass from Ian Hunt to Matt Laws and never looked back. Jesse Cappadocia converted the PAT and six more as the game wore on.
The Bulldog defense limited Horizon to 183 yards in a game where every available Bulldog got significant playing time.
Horizon scored twice in the fourth period after Ramona called off the Dawgs.
“It is not about shutouts and stats,” said Baldwin when he was asked if he was upset about not getting a shutout. “It is about winning and giving everybody who works hard during practice a chance to play. There are 57 players on this team and they all work hard. When the opportunity arises, it is great to let them play,”
Fifteen Bulldogs recorded tackles in the game. Tanner Hix led the Dawgs with 7.5 tackles.
Dean Faddis, Mikey Head, Albert Jones, Christian Rodriguez, Trevor Kerchner, Malcolm Mayors, John Henry Yorba, Alex Gaona and Chucky Delacruz all had multiple tackle games. Christian Scherer, Kevin Guglielmetti, Brenton Balchin and Quintin Wright also recorded tackles.
Kerchner and Hix were the Co-Defensive Players of the Game. Yorba was the Defensive Lineman of the Game. Justin Poplin was the Defensive Scout Player of the Week.
The offense moved the ball and scored at will. The Dawgs amassed 376 yards on offense and an average of 9.2 yards a snap.
Ian Hunt went seven for 11, passing with 132 yards and three touchdowns. He hit Matt Laws, Joey Dambrose and Mikey Head for scoring tosses.
Head’s catch went for 80 yards. Erik Ernst was one for two. He hit Oli Scott.
Five Bulldogs carried the ball for 145 yards. Dambrose had 128 yards on 15 carries.
Ryan Morgan had 184 all-purpose yards (84 rushing and 100 on returns). Head had 180 all-purpose yards.
Morgan broke a toe on his first carry of the game. His injury is being evaluated and his availability for future games was not known at press time.
Hunt and center Brett Germain were the Offensive Players of the Game. Jacob Landmark was the Offensive Lineman of the Game. Oli Scott was the Offensive Scout Player of the Week.
Ramona had more yardage on special teams than the Horizon offense. Morgan was the Special Teams Player of the Game. Besides two returns for 100 yards, Morgan recovered a fumble on a kickoff.
Jones and Guglielmetti delivered the Big Hits of the Game, and Laws, Mayors and Morgan received awards for their hustle.
Baldwin praised the play of the offense, defense and special teams.
“Our defense is swarming and playing smart football,” he said. “Our offense is balanced and consistent. We are more balanced and we have had to overcome weekly lineup changes due to injuries. Our special teams have been dominant. We start Valley League play now, the second season is here. We must go on the road two weeks in a row before we come home for Homecoming.”
The Dawgs travel to Mt. Carmel tomorrow. Varsity kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Junior Varsity
The JVs got back on the winning track by beating Horizon High School 38-14.
The Dawgs’ defense scored first when Matt Neylan recovered a Panther fumble in the end zone. Special teams scored two touchdowns as Nate Lutu scored on punt returns of 84 and 43 yards.
Lutu scored a rushing TD. Kyle McNamara also rushed for a TD.
Jake Graham led the offense as he completed eight of eleven passes for 170 yards. Logan Peterson, Greg Harrington, Quincey Watts, Preston Snyder, Kaleb Billinski, Jeremiah Johnson, Bryson Garcia and Evan Bray all had receptions. Bray had the big catch of the day with an 87 yard TD catch.
Nate Hunt led the defense with five tackles and got the Big hit award for throwing two flat back blocks on one punt return. Alex Woolsey, Seth Martins, Fidel Lopez and Neylan all recorded four tackles apiece. Bas Overdevest grabbed two interceptions in the game. The JVs play at Mt. Carmel on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Frosh
The Battling Bullpups beat Olympian High School’s frosh 14-8. The Pup defense held Olympian to 120 yards and 79 of those yards came on a broken play.
“We completely dominated the line of scrimmage,” said Defensive Line Coach Eddie Brisendine.
Josh Mahaffey and Colton Houlihan scored for the Pups. Jason Laws had three receptions for 46 yards and made a clutch catch to set up Mahaffey’s TD.
Shane Barnes was the leading rusher for the Pups. Houlihan and Jake Gallegos led the Pups with five tackles apiece. Grant Faddis grabbed an interception to end the game and ensure a Bullpup victory.
The Pups are at home today and face Mt. Carmel at 5 p.m.