Bulldogs Chomp Tigers, 39-0
Crockett Secures Third Playoff Seed
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – The Crockett Bulldogs welcomed the Trinity Tigers to Monte Jack Driskell Stadium last Friday evening for a District 9-3A DI showdown with huge playoff implications.
Both teams had secured a playoff spot but the winner of the game would enter the postseason as the number three seed while the loser would fall to the fourth seed position and a date with the Class 3A #8 East Chambers Buccaneers.
The Tigers were much improved this season and would be making their first playoff appearance in several years. Friday night, however, you couldn’t tell it as the Bulldogs blasted Trinity by a final score of 39-0.
Trinity opened the game with possession of the ball at their own 22. On first down, the Tigers’ Juju Clayborne slipped around the edge of the defense and picked up 19 yards. QB Cole Caldwell completed a four-yard pass to Clayborne but on the next play, Caldwell was picked off by Zandric Anderson who returned the ball 49 yards for a pick six. Antonio Cruz knocked home the PAT and with just over a minute gone by in the first quarter, Crockett led 7-0.
On their next possession, the Tigers started at their own 25 but a fumble on second down gave the ball right back to the Bulldogs when Anderson pounced on it at the Trinity 35-yard-line.
Crockett QB Jadyn Collins lost five on first down when he slipped on the turf but Keyshun Easterling got four of the yards back on second down. Faced with a third-and-11, Collins threw a perfect pass to Ty White who caught the ball in between two defenders for a 36-yard TD. Cruz added the extra point and with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter, Crockett now led 14-0.
The next time the Tigers’ had the ball, another interception gave it right back to the Bulldogs. Crockett drove the ball down to the two-yard line but a turnover gave Trinity the ball in the shadow of their own goal post.
The Tigers managed to move out to the 10, but the Crockett defense stiffened and forced Trinity into a punting situation. On the attempted punt, the ball sailed over the punters head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety giving Crockett a 16-0 lead.
The Bulldogs would hold their 16 point lead into the second quarter, but with less than a minute gone in the period, Collins connected with wide-out Randy Jones on a 43-yard scoring strike to push the lead out to 23-0, following the Cruz XP.
Trinity’s offense simply could not find any rhythm and they were forced to punt once again. A good return by Jones set up the Bulldogs at the 22-yard line of the Tiger’s and three plays later, Easterling bulled his way into the end zone from four yards out to extend the Crockett lead. The Cruz extra point pushed the margin to 30-0 with 8:51 left in the half.
The Tigers appeared to finally find an answer on their next series of downs as they started feeding the ball to Andrew Crabtree who rumbled his way for gains of 13, 15 and 10 yards to move Trinity into Crockett territory.
The Bulldogs eventually stopped the Tigers and forced a turnover on downs but fumbled the ball right back to Trinity, which brought the first half to a close.
The second half started with a bang. The Bulldogs began the third quarter with the ball resting at their on 17-yard line. On first down, Easterling took the handoff from Collins, slipped a tackle at the line of scrimmage and sprinted 83 yards to pay dirt. Cruz tacked on the extra point and with 11:39 remaining in the third quarter, Crockett now led 37-0.
After the two teams exchanged punts, Trinity took possession at their own 10. The Bulldogs’ D rose up and prevented the Tigers from gaining any yardage and forced Trinity into yet another punting situation.
In a case of déjà vu all over again, the snap on the punt attempt was bobbled and trickled out of the back of the end zone for the second safety of the game. That brought the scoring to a close as Crockett cruised to a 39-0 win to close out the regular season.
The Bulldogs are back in action this Friday as they travel to Woodville to take on the Anahuac Panthers in the Bi-District round of the playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
