Bulldogs Maul Indians, 49-0

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett Bulldogs used a 21 point outburst to start the third quarter to effectively end the game as they coasted to an easy, 49-0 Homecoming victory on Friday night.

With the score 21-0 at the half, the Frankston Indians were still in the ballgame. Crockett had won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. To try and give the team a little spark, the Frankston coaching staff tried to catch the Dawgs asleep as the third quarter got underway.

Their plan backfired, however, as an onside kick attempt to start the second half took a perfect bounce for Crockett’s James O’Neal who fielded the ball at his own 49 and motored 51 yards to the end zone. The Ricardo Ramirez extra point was good and with only eight seconds gone in the period, Crockett had extended their lead to 28-0.

After the Dawgs kicked off, the Indians were unable to generate any offense and punted the ball. Crockett took possession at their own 25 yard line and on their first, second half play from scrimmage, Bulldog quarterback B.J. Anderson saw Lucky Daniels had a step on the Frankston coverage. Anderson launched a perfect throw to Daniels, who caught the pass in stride and took it to pay dirt for a 75 yard score. Following the Ramirez PAT, the score stood at 35-0 with 8:40 left in the third.

On the ensuing kickoff, a blocking below the waist penalty was called on the Indians which pushed them back to their own 15. A fumbled exchange on first down gave the ball right back to the Dawgs in the Frankston red zone and the next play saw Xavion Dixon bounce to the outside and scamper into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. After Ramirez knocked home the XP, Crockett led by a score of 42-0, with 8: 25 seconds still left in the third quarter.

At the half, Crockett led by 21 points. In the span of 3:35 seconds to start the third period of play, the Dawgs hit the Indians with 21 unanswered points to put the game out of reach and leave the Frankston sideline in a state of shock.

A late, six yard scoring run from Ahmad Brown, along with the Ramirez XP, capped the game scoring and sent the Homecoming crowd home with a 49-0 win.

Before the game got underway, the Crockett fans celebrated homecoming and saw Jada Fobbs crowned as Homecoming Queen while Rascal Yates was crowned as Homecoming King.

Once the pre-game Homecoming festivities concluded, the two teams took the field in what seemed like it could be a closer than expected contest.

Frankston opened the game with the ball but the Crockett defense forced Frankston into a three and out.

Crockett took over at their own 26 and began a methodical drive that saw Alton Owens pick up 23 yards on first down and an additional 21 yards on a second down reception. With the ball now at the 30 yard line of Frankston, a four yard pick up from Dixon was followed by two straight incompletions.

Faced with a fourth and six, Anderson connected with Daniels for 15 yards and a first down. Three plays later, Anderson found Owens in the front of the end zone with a four yard TD pass for the game’s first score. Ramirez added the extra point and with 7:47 left in the opening stanza, the Dawgs led 7-0.

Frankston took possession following the kickoff and set up shop at their own 17. From there, the Indians mounted a long, sustained drive behind the running of QB Garrett Bean and running back Boogie Krajca.

The Indians overcame two fourth and long situations and managed to get inside the Crockett 25 yard line. At that point, however, the Dawgs’ defense bit back. After a first down incompletion from Bean, Krajca picked up two yards. The Indians were called for holding on third down and pushed back to the 31 after the penalty.

A third and 18 pass from Bean was incomplete, but with the ball at the Crockett 31, the Indians decided to go for it on fourth down. The Dawgs “D” pressured Bean into an under thrown pass on fourth and long which allowed Owens to make a leaping interception in the end zone.

Crockett took over at their own 20 and after a five yard run from Derrick Sherman, Dixon broke free up the middle, cut towards the home side of the field and raced 72 yards to the Indian three, before he was dragged down. Two plays later, Dixon finished what he started as he plowed across the goal line for his first TD of the night.  Ramirez tacked on the PAT and with 9:57 left in the first half, the Dawgs led by a score of 14-0.

Following the kickoff, Frankston started another time consuming drive that ended with an interception. The Indians started at their own 15 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half. They were able to move the ball across the midfield stripe as they converted two fourth and long situations.

As the clock crept under two minutes, however, they faced a third fourth and long situation. The third time wasn’t a charm for Bean as he threw his second interception. This time, his fourth down pass was picked off by Daniels at the Crockett 14.

The Dawgs took possession with 1:26 left in the half and went to work. Anderson connected with Dixon for 27 yards, Owens ripped off 19 on the ground and the Indians were called for pass interference. The fifteen yard penalty moved the ball to the Frankston 25 and on the Dawgs’ next play, Anderson hit Latavion Jones on a crossing route for a TD with 47 seconds left in the half. Ramirez converted the extra point to bring the first half scoring to a close and set up the third quarter onslaught.
After the game, AD/Head Coach Jimmy Thompson spoke about his team’s performance. “Offensively, we did everything we wanted to do. Defensively in the first half, we let them drive the ball too much. I know they made three or four fourth down plays. We want our defense to go out there and force a three and out. We didn’t do a good job of that in the first half.”

“Now, having said that,” Coach Thompson continued, “I can’t really complain a whole lot about the defense when they pitched a shutout. We were looking for perfection and we were not quite as perfect as we would like to have been on defense.”

He added, “Special teams-wise, I thought we did a good job tonight. We scored a touchdown on an onside kick and we also kicked the ball deep and gave them a long field. Overall, it was a great performance from our kids. It was a good night. Everybody got to play and get involved. We got out of here with a win and I think we came out of the game injury free. That’s about all you can ask for.”

For the game, Crockett was led by BJ Anderson who completed 8 of 12 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Xavion Dixon led the Dawgs’ rushing attack with eight carries for 102 yards and two scores, while Lucky Daniels hauled in four passes for 110 yards and one TD.

Next week, the Dawgs hit the road as they travel to Garrison for a game with playoff seeding implications. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Oct 28.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].