Dawgs rally for season opening win, and eye third consecutive
By DAVID MORRIS
Cove Leader-Press
In a tale of two halves, the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs used the momentum of an untimed down that netted a touchdown just before half to eventually swing the scoreboard in their favor.
The Dawgs will look to make it three wins in a row tonight as they face off with class 5A Leander Glenn Grizzlies at Bulldawg stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
“Well, if you know anything about this game it comes down to scheme and matchups. They are a slot T team that has had drives of 7, 8 and 9 min with results in TD’s,” Head football coach Tony Johnson said. “This is not good for an offense that needs to be in rhythm. As you know we started slow last week before exploding. We cannot afford to be hasty with the offense.”
The Grizzlies are coached by Brandon Krauskoopf and he returns 21 of 38 lettermen from a year ago that went 2-8 and 1-6 in district. They posted a win in week one over Medina Valley 21-7, rolling off 283 yards on the ground with the bulk coming from Dubelbeis with 100 yards, Keaton Gordon with 89-yards and JJ Ortiz 14 carries for 73 yards. All averaging more than five yards per touch.
Their defense is anchored by Eya Jones at DB and Ethan Mather, Michael McEachron and Ralphie Norman on the defensive line, and gave up just seven points in week 1 action.
“They are best in the trenches, but I believe we can expose their back end. They will have their hands full with our wide receivers if we are clicking,” said Johnson. “Now if their offense is controlling the clock and scoring, things will get interesting.”
The Dawgs’ 49-34 win over Ellison in week one saw big plays from Ashton Adams, Anthony King, Thishstin Glass and Arthur Miller. Dropped passes hurt their play early on, however the halftime momentum shift saw different results in the second half as the Dawgs rolled up 35 points in the second half before putting the Eagles away.
The weather has dampened the practice facilities for the Dawgs during the holiday shortened week as they prepared for the Grizzlies and their ball hawking defense.
“They will be fine. Honestly, we couldn’t do much because every practice so far this week has been pouring down rain,” said Johnson.