As Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons once sang “Oh What a Night”! Playing in classic chilly, windy football weather, the only mercy that the Waldron Sr Bulldogs delivered to the Dover Pirates in Friday’s match-up was on the game clock. After the 35-14 win at home, the Bulldogs upgrade their conference play record to 1-3.
Waldron got things started by receiving the opening kick. And although the weather was colder than an Alaska alley cat in the middle of January, the Bulldogs quickly heated things up just four seconds into the game as Trevor Hunt took the opening kick 53-yards to the house for the nights first TD. Kicker, Leo “Left Foot” Lopez sealed up the extra point and the score sat 7-0 Waldron. The Pirates tried to make magic happen but it was a no-go. With the Bulldogs back in possession of the ball, QB, Braden Williams, Isaac “The Real” Villarreal, and the other half of the double trouble Hunt brothers, Trenton Hunt, each made headway moving the ball downfield for Waldron.
Positioned beautifully at the 1-yard line, Trenton rushed his way into paydirt with 7:43 left in the first quarter and along with the second Lopez liftoff, the score continued north 14-0 Waldron. Again, Dover was unable to let sparks fly so Waldron came in to pick up the slack. The Bulldogs offense was doing what they do best until things took a slight turn in the scary direction. Williams played hot potato with a fumbled snap but was able to nicely recover under pressure. Looking for an open receiver, Willaims spotted Bryson Bailey wide open in the endzone and connected perfectly for a TD. But the celebration would have to wait as a penalty backed the Bulldogs to the 14-yard line.
No worries though. An unfazed Trevor Hunt took a Williams pass to sweet touchdown victory and with a third Lopez one pointer, Waldron kept the lead 21-0 ending the 1st quarter. Starting the second quarter, the Bulldogs gained some nice yardage with the help of Trevor Hunt and Bailey. With the ball placed on the 2-yard line, Williams was able to bulldoze it in for a TD, and coupled with Lopez’s 1-point boot, scoot, and boogie, the score continued its uphill hike to 28-0 Bulldogs. As the Pirates unsuccessful woes continued, Waldron graciously accepted the ball back. Sophomore, Steeven Figueroa, helped maneuver his team across the field with multiple runs. Just minutes left before the half, Waldron scored again with a QB keeper and a Lopez kick highlighting the board 35-0 Waldron.
Dover fans got to experience some excitement as the Pirates made their first first down of the night. Looking like something was about to happen, the Pirate’s dreams were crushed as their QB got sacked by Willaims and the first half of the game came to a close 35-0 Waldron. The first half Bulldog stats saw Williams with 6/8 passes for 91 yards, 6 carries for 56 yards, and2 TDs. Trenton Hunt earned 6 carries for 55 yards, and 1 TD. Trevor Hunt made 20 reception yards. Isaac “The Real” Villarreal snagged 21 yards on one reception. Caden Fuller received 3 catches for 33 yards. And Bryson Bailey netted a 30-yard reception.
The second half of the game saw the Pirates coming to life a bit but now they weren’t just battling the Bulldogs. They were battling the rolling score clock as well as the mercy rule was put into effect. Dover smashed their first points on the board with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Although the Bulldogs would be stagnant in the second half, it wasn’t a problem. The Pirates would put 8 more points on the board but it was too little too late as Waldron remained the victors of the night with a 35-14 conference win.
The Bulldogs saw some great offensive blocks from Caden Fuller and Brayden Houston as they spent most plays driving back the Pirates. Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to plunder Dover’s pickings with the help of Payton Lipham, Blake Owens, Matthew Brigance, Bryson Bailey, Jesse Dees, Marcus Dye, Trenton Hunt, Steeven Figueroa who also had a QB sack, and Hector Calderon who delivered a nice deflection from a Dover pass.
Now that the Bulldogs conference curse has been broken, Waldron will place their attention on the Dardanelle Sand Lizards whom they will face on October 30 at Dardanelle. The Sand Lizards will be entering this match coming off of a 36-13 loss with the Mena Bearcats.
Photos courtesy of Sandy Tull
