Dawgs overcome turnovers, penalties to beat Eagles 36-27

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

KILLEEN - The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs overcame five turnovers and 125 penalty yards to down Ellison 36-27 and put a damper on the Eagle’s homecoming night festivities.

The weakness for much of the year for Cove became their strength in the win. The Bulldawgs’ defense has given up an average of 565 yards and 46 points per game through the first six contests but surrendered just 287 yards and 27 points in their win on Friday, despite five turnovers that put the defense in compromising positions.

“I’m proud of our football team tonight,” said Jack Welch, Cove head coach and athletic director. “I thought our defense played the best game they’ve played this year and we had to have that because they were so deadly. They can score at any time.”

It looked to be another long night for the Cove defense after Ellison junior quarterback Carl Robinson III found junior wide out Jayden Smith for a 74-yard touchdown catch down the middle of the field.

The Bulldawgs, however, stood tall holding the Eagles to just 213 yards for the remainder of the contest. Hard hits early by senior defenders D’Mani Paepaelalo and Martinez Rogers set the tone defensively for the Dawgs.

“We knew we just had to step up,” said senior defensive captain Shamad Lomax. “It was our time. The offense has been scoring every week. We knew we just had to step up and help out our offense. When ‘Pae Pae’ hit him, we came in with tremendous confidence. I just gave us a good boost.”

Robinson, who had thrown only three interceptions all year, threw two the Bulldawgs’ defense in the loss, including on the Eagles final drive when junior Jordan Speight jumped the route to prevent any last-minute heroics by Robinson and the Eagles.

“It brings us great confidence,” said Lomax. “We knew they were going to pass it a lot and we were able to stop the pass so going into next week against, maybe we can do the same thing.”

Another big performance came from kicker Kryztian Wheeler. He was good on a 38-yard field goal with 1:15 remaining to ice the game for the Dawgs. Wheeler began Cove’s scoring with a 39-yard boot in the first quarter and put the Dawgs up by nine in the fourth to close out the game.

“They asked me if I thought I could do it,” said Wheeler. “I had no doubt I could.”

“I had full confidence in him because I see how he’s working in practice,” said Welch. “I asked if he could get it done and he said yes so we went with it and he put it right through.”

Missed field goals and extra points cost the Dawgs in their 67-66 loss to Schertz-Clemens to end the non-district slate and Wheeler need to atone.

“I felt like I kind of owed it to them because I struggled at the beginning of the year. I came out here thinking, if I have a chance, I’m going to make it and do what I need to do to help my team.”

Cove Running back Antonio Lealiee eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with another strong performance at running back. The senior rushed for 276 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cove offense but did have a costly fumble late in the game.

“I didn’t feel like I did my best,” said Lealiiee. “I had a couple of big mistakes that could have cost us the game but the defense made a big stand tonight and made some big stops to get back on the field to try an overcome those big turnovers.”

Junior quarterback Caine Garner struggled under center throwing three interceptions and fumbling another handoff, but the potent Bulldawg offense was able to overcome the miscues.

After surrendering the early touchdown to fall behind 7-0, the Cove defense made a statement when junior defensive lineman sacked Robinson in the end zone for a safety as part of 19 unanswered points over the next 10 minutes of game action.

The offense took advantage of the extra possession. A 41-yard kick off return by junior Kylan Herrera set up Cove in Eagle territory. Three plays later Garner finds senior receiver Ra’shaun Henry for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Bulldawgs the lead for good, 13-7, after the two-point conversion from Garner to senior Joed Hernandez.

Lealiee capped the 19-0 run with a 97-yard touchdown run to put the Dawgs in control 19-7. The run was the second-longest in Bulldawg history behind the 99-yard run by Brandon Hamilton against Waco High in 2010.

The Eagles pulled within a touchdown to end the half when Joseph Williams intercepted the Garner throw and set his team up at the Cove 21. Four plays later, Smith squirted in for the score from five yards out.

A 19-yard punt by Ellison gave the Dawgs a short field and they quickly took advantage with three Lealiiee runs totaling 30 yards for the score.

The Eagles made it a one-score contest again on their next possession when Robinson and Smith hooked up on a 46-yard touchdown pitch and catch to cap a six-play drive that began at their 27.

A fortunate hop resulted in Cove’s next score. A fumble by Garner was picked up by Lealiee and ran in for the score to cap a seven-play, 60-yard drive. Runs by Hererra helped set up the score.

Another Cove turnover allowed Ellison to again pull within a score. When Lealiiee was stripped of the ball at the Cove 25, Ellison made them pay with a five-play scoring drive, culminating in the third touchdown connection between Robinson and Smith.

After forced punts for both teams on their next possessions, Wheeler iced the game with the field goal to end an eight-play drive that began at the Cove 49.

The Dawgs will keep their quest for the district crown going this Friday when they host the Midway Panthers.