Dragons pull away in second half
By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press
J.P. Urquidez likes that his team continues to improve every week but the 6-foot-6, 295-pound, left tackle knows the time for moral victories has to end.
Urquidez and his offensive line led the way to 357 rushing yards in a 33-21 loss to the Round Rock Dragons. He’s glad the offense is coming together but he’s ready for that to translate into wins on the scoreboard.
“We’re very happy because we had 350-plus yards on the ground. That’s great for the offensive lineman. That’s on our backs completely, but It’s tough to get a loss so it’s going to be hard to sleep tonight. It’s good to see improvements but we need to see wins now.”
The Dawgs held a 15-12 lead at halftime but a 21-point second half for the Dragons put the game out of reach for the Dawgs, despite much better play across the board.
“I thought we played solid in all three phases of the game,” said head football coach and athletic director Jack Welch. “Their offense was a little more powerful than our offense, but I thought our defense grew up a lot. They fought and make some good, positive things happen tonight.”
Senior running back Antonio Lealiiee led the Bulldawgs ground attack with 198 hard-fought yards on 18 carries and junior Kylan Herrera juked his way to 111 yards and a touchdown on 16 totes. Junior quarterback Caine Garner added 48 more yards and a score on 16 carries.
“Everybody made a big step up this week, especially the (offensive) line,” said Lealiiee. “They were staying on blocks, just mauling them. The holes were looking big and everything.”
Lealiiee and Herrera were running with a renewed vigor and Lealiiee credits that to his guys up front.
“I couldn’t really do it without the linemen giving me opportunities to make moves on one-on-ones with the safeties,” he said. “We made a goal this year to be one of the top rushing teams in the district and try to make a statement. We just have a determination to get in the end zone. We’re trying to get the offense off the field, put together drives and put points on the board.”
They did their job.
The difference of the game was once again in the passing game. The Dragons managed 334 yards and a score through the air while the Bulldawgs had just 88 yards through the air.
“I thought our offense was pretty powerful running the football, said Welch. “We have to get better in our passing game. When we had to go down the field, we overthrew, overthrew, overthrew but those things can be worked out - it’s just turning your hips and getting those things done right.”
A 14-point third quarter by the Dragons swung the momentum from the Dawgs to the Dragons. Round Rock drove down the field and scored on a five-play drive to take the lead for good.
After a pair of stalled drives by the Dawgs, the Dragons pushed their lead to 11, 26-15, with a 13-play drive that consumed nearly five minutes. A 14-yard scramble by Dragon quarterback Liam Beard capped the 93-yard drive.
The Dawgs answered with a six-play scoring drive, capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Herrera with 10:52 left in the game.
The Dragons responded in kind with a six-play drive, highlighted by a 66-yard pass completion from Beard to running back Day’shus White, culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Brian Bullock.
The Bulldawgs took the first shot across the bow when Shamad Lomax returned the opening kickoff 45 yards to set up an eight-play scoring drive by the Dawgs. A 20-yard pitch and catch between Garner and Ra’shaun Henry capped the drive.
The Dragons pulled within one with a nine-play scoring drive culminating in a one-yard run by Day’shus White for the score.
The Dragons took the lead on their next possession after picking off the Garner pass in the end zone. A 44-yard pass from Beard to Zech Nash-Kelly set up the Dragons in Bulldawg. A two-yard touchdown run by Bullock finished off the drive.
Cove’s final score of the half came on a 13-play drive that last over five minutes. A two-yard dive by Garner put the Dawgs up 15-12 with 6:42 left in the half.
The Bulldawgs won the rushing battle with 357 yards to Round Rock’s 170, but the Dragons won the battle through the air and the turnover battle. Cove had two interceptions and two fumbles while the Dragons had just one interception.
The defense also showed major improvements. After giving up 50-plus points in their first two contest, the Dawgs held Round Rock to just 33 points.
“I thought our defense grew up tonight,” said Welch. “Very seldom did they get behind us, and when they did, our speed caught up. I thought our linebackers played well. Tyson Curry, I thought he was all over the football field. He made a difference for us.”
Shamad Lomax led the Bulldawgs defense with 7 tackles and intercepted a tipped ball by D’mani Paepaelalo in the end zone to halt another Dragon score.
“In the first games, they got behind us a little it,” said Lomax. “We just had to come back in practice and get better. Coach said don’t give up the deep ball so we stayed over the top and did our job.”
Improvement is good, but Welch wants to make sure the hunger to win continues.
“We just took a major step tonight, but as a coach, you have to make sure they don’t get satisfied with that,” said Welch. “You get satisfied with losing you become a loser but I am excited that I saw great improvement tonight. I mean these guys are good. They rank right up there with Lake Travis and A&M Consolidated.”
The Dawgs will finish off their brutal non-district schedule at home against Samuel Clemens for homecoming and Welch expects his team to fight.
“We’re climbing that hill. We have one more tough opponent with Schertz-Clemens,” said Welch. “All four teams were ranked to beat us and that’s fine. We’ve got to get ready for district play and we want to win this next ball game. It’s homecoming and we need to come out fighting like a dog.”