Burnet football holds off Taylor for 34-24 homecoming win
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BURNET — The Burnet Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-2 lead at the half, but the Taylor Ducks just wouldn’t go south for the winter.
“I think we were sloppy at times tonight,” Bulldogs head coach Kurt Jones said. “Our defense played a great first half, but we became a bit stale.”
At one point, the Ducks pulled within 10 as Burnet held a 27-17 lead after Taylor’s Isaac Franco rumbled 33 yards for a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the third. But the Bulldogs gathered themselves together and added a fourth-quarter score when Taylor Barksdale bulled his way in from a yard out with 6:47 left in the game.
Though Taylor added one more score, it was too late as Burnet won its homecoming game, 34-24.
Barksdale came in late in the game for starting quarterback Derek Kiser, who appeared to be favoring his left ankle.
The Bulldogs have a bye next week, giving them time to heal up for the first district game at Brownwood on Oct. 11.
The Bulldogs started the night off when Kiser and Blayne Parisher connected for a seven-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game. The scoring slowed a bit until Kiser struck Caleb Alexander for a 31-yard touchdown pass with seven minutes left in the half.
Taylor’s first score came when a Burnet snap sailed over the punter’s head and into the end zone. Burnet recovered, giving a safety to Taylor.
Kiser and Parisher connected again with 12 seconds left in the half for an 11-yard touchdown. Burnet’s Tyler Krause set up the score when he picked off Taylor’s Joseph Lopez on the Bulldogs’ 40-yard line with 50 seconds left in the half.
In the third, Taylor found life when Franco rambled 78 yards for a score. The Ducks converted a two-point conversion to cut the Burnet lead to 20-10.
Another Kiser-Parisher connection gave Burnet a 27-10 lead. Franco’s late third-quarter touchdown run would make it interesting, but the Bulldogs mustered another score to seal the game.
Burnet’s defense kept Taylor in check the last several minutes to help lift the Bulldogs to a 4-1 record.
Jones said the Bulldogs will refocus during the bye week to get ready for district play.
daniel@thepicayune.com