Bulldogs rally to beat Comets 16-14

By: Ryan Beck

Contributing Writer

 

The Minco Bulldog football team (1-0) pulled off a thrilling comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to  defeat the Hinton Comets last Friday night in Week 0 action. It was truly a game of two halves. Hinton dominated the first half, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime, but the Bulldogs regrouped and came out with an edge scoring sixteen unanswered points to win 16-14 in a thrilling opening game of the 2024 campaign.

The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, so Hinton received the opening kickoff. Hinton went straight to work on their first drive. Starting from their own 35-yard line, the Comets marched right down the field, only needing to convert one fourth down play in the drive. Hinton scored on a 22-yard quarterback run with a successful PAT to take a 7-0 lead. The 13-play, 75-yard drive ate up eight minutes of the first quarter.

After a three-and-out by the Bulldogs, Hinton took over at their own 48-yard line. Despite giving up twenty yards, the Bulldog defense stiffened and got a tremendous pass breakup at the goal line by AJ Russell on fourth down to end the threat.

On the first play of Minco’s third offensive series, Hinton forced a fumble and recovered it at the Bulldogs’ 22-yard line. The Comets capitalized, scoring on a one-yard rush on another quarterback run up the middle. The PAT kick was made, and the Hinton Comets led 14-0 with just over three minutes left in the half.. 

Minco began to build momentum in their next drive. Running back Sebastian Valdez had a nifty 34-yard run, which put the Bulldogs into Hinton territory. However, the drive ended with an interception on a 4th-and-13 play, which the Comets returned to the Minco 42-yard line.

Hinton attempted to catch the Bulldogs off guard with a pass after a six-yard run, but Russell was ready, intercepting the ball at the five-yard line.

Despite being down 14-0 at halftime, the Bulldogs remained calm, relying on their summer preparation. Head coach Brock Wardlaw noted, “We didn’t make many tweaks. Just told our guys to stick to the game plan, to do our jobs and we will start to wear them down.” His words proved prophetic as the second half was dominated by the well-conditioned home team.

Minco received the second half kickoff, starting their first drive at their own twenty-yard line after the Comet kickoff reached the end zone. The Minco drive began with a seven-yard run by Taylor Truelove and an eight-yard run by Valdez to get the Bulldogs rolling. After several penalties by Hinton and a couple of tough runs by Valdez, the Bulldogs reached the Hinton 21-yard line. However, a holding penalty pushed Minco back to a 1st-and-20. On 3rd-and-18, a 14-yard screen pass from quarterback Dason McMurtrey to receiver Carson Littlejohn, with an excellent block by offensive lineman Jaxon Mathews, allowed the Bulldogs a manageable fourth down, but an incompletion stalled the drive. Even though Minco was not able to get on the scoreboard with their 12-play, 63-yard drive, they set the tone for the rest of the game.

Minco’s defense continued to shine as they forced a three-and-out. On Minco’s next offensive series, the Comets received a heavy dose of Valdez. The Bulldogs were able to overcome a false start and a holding penalty and marched down the field. Facing a 4th-and-11, McMurtrey completed a pass to Russell in the hole of the zone defense for a gain of 18 yards. The Bulldogs scored their first touchdown on a 4th-and-goal pass from the two-yard line when the coaches and McMurtrey noticed no defender was covering receiver Littlejohn. McMurtrey floated a perfect ball to Littlejohn, who made the uncontested catch. Valdez powered in the two-point conversion, cutting Hinton’s lead to 14-8 with 10:40 remaining. The scoring drive lasted 14 plays and covered 78 yards.

Minco’s defense once again proved too mighty and forced a three-and-out with a key tackle by defensive end Brody Mathews. After the Hinton punt, the Bulldogs started their next drive at their own 25-yard line.

The Bulldog offense continued to operate at a high efficiency, aided by a defensive pass interference, a couple of completed passes by newly-entered Russell, and some excellent runs by Valdez. On 4th-and-7, Russell completed a 12-yard pass to LIttlejohn to extend the drive. The Bulldogs capped off the impressive series with a 19-yard reverse to slot Aden Brummell, who was sprung by outstanding blocks from Jase Bratcher, Truelove, and Littlejohn. Valdez once again punched in the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs their first lead, 16-14, with 2:06 remaining in the game.

The kickoff team had outstanding coverage on the ensuing kickoff with Hayden Mock making an excellent tackle on the kick returner. Hinton completed two passes for a total of 46 yards, putting the Comets in position to throw into the endzone. Brummell made an incredible pass breakup on what seemed like a sure touchdown at the goal line. Two plays later, Russell ended the threat with a game-saving interception at the 11-yard line. The Bulldogs took a knee in victory formation to close out the game.

After the game, Coach Wardlaw praised his offensive lineman and running back, stating, “Up front, we played a lot better in the second half and created some holes for our running backs. Valdez did a good job of running hard all night.” He was proud of his defense as well, stating, “Landon McMahon played really well at safety filling the run. Russell had two picks on the night and played well at corner. Up front, we played very hard and did a good job letting our linebackers run around and make tackles.” Overall, Wardlaw was proud of his team’s resilience and determination, adding, “We’re proud of our boys to continue to fight and find a way to get the win…things didn’t go our way in the first half, but we stuck to the game plan and played well enough in the second half to find a way to win.” 

Minco rushed for 219 yards on 40 attempts. Valdez led the team individually with 158 yards on 26 attempts with Brummell scoring a touchdown. McMurtrey completed 4-of-11 pass attempts for 35 yards and a touchdown while Russell was 2-for-2 with 14 passing yards. The Bulldog defense gave up 218 total yards with Hinton gaining 116 rushing and 102 passing yards. McMahon led the team in tackles with 8 and Bratcher and Valdez contributed 7 each, and Russell had two interceptions and a pass breakup.  

The Minco Bulldogs travel to Dibble to take on the Demons on Friday night at 7. Coach Wardlaw is anticipating a tough matchup, saying, “A very physical and athletic Dibble team this week. We will have to play better on both sides of the ball to get the job done.”