Burnet gets homecoming win over Waco University

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BURNET — With the Waco University Trojans threatening late in the game Sept. 19 at Bulldog Stadium, Burnet’s defense could have let up and relaxed. After all, the Bulldogs were up 44-21 with a little more than two minutes remaining.

On fourth-and-goal at the Bulldogs’ six-yard line, Trojans quarterback Gustavo Ortega pounded away at the center of the line. He made a few steps in the right direction, but suddenly, the Bulldogs linebacker corps and defense slammed into Ortega, sending him spinning into the air. When he landed, Ortega was only three yards short of the end zone, but it must have felt like a mile.

That seemed to be the story of the night. Whenever Waco University’s offense appeared to find some light in the Burnet defense, the Bulldogs dug in and turned the lights out. And then, the Burnet offense lit things up themselves.

After the Bulldogs’ defense stopped Waco University on the three-yard line, Burnet’s Wesley Shackelford scrambled out into the open field and rambled 97 yards to close out the game with 51-21 victory.

The win lifts Burnet to 3-1 on the season and gives them two strong victories to carry into the district opener Sept. 26 at Taylor.

“I’m proud of our kids because that was a very athletic team,” said Burnet head coach Kurt Jones.

The Trojans struck first and big. On the first play of the opening drive, Ortega connected with Kenneth Woods III on a 63-yard touchdown pass. Burnet blocked the extra point. The Bulldogs fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Waco University found themselves on Burnet’s 35-yard line.

After the 63-yard explosion on the previous drive, surely the short field favored the Trojans offense. But instead, the Burnet defense kept Waco University out of the end zone, and the Trojans had to settle for a 37-yard field goal.

The nine-point lead didn’t last long. Burnet’s offense drove 65 yards for a touchdown. The key play came when Burnet quarterback Austin Moore hit Joel Johnson for a 29-yard reception that set up a first-and-goal on the Trojans’ nine-yard line. The Bulldogs’ Eric Walker capped it off with an eight-yard run, putting Burnet right back in the game only down 9-7.

The Burnet defense came up with a big play on the next drive when Wyatt Shepperd picked off an Ortega pass, giving the Bulldogs the ball on their own 47-yard line. Burnet’s Alex Melvin gave the Bulldogs a 10-9 lead when he kicked a 32-yard field goal.

The teams traded touchdowns with Burnet managing a 17-15 lead as the clock began to wind down toward halftime. It looked as if Waco University might have the last say of the half, but Burnet’s Devontre Alexander recovered an Xavier Tomlinson fumble, setting up the Bulldogs on the Trojans’ 21-yard line with about 30 second left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs’ offense showed its gratitude by scoring on the next play when Moore found Steven Gallardo for a 21-yard touchdown pass. As the two teams headed into the locker rooms, Burnet held a 23-15 lead.

And the Bulldogs would build on it in the second half. Alexander recovered his second fumble of the game early in the third quarter, giving Burnet’s offense a chance to build the lead. But after three plays, the Bulldogs found themselves in a fourth-and-eight situation.

Alex Melvin trotted out onto the field and took his position as punter. With the ball in his hand, Melvin started to punt but then shifted course and lobbed a pass to Cody Jones for a 12-yard reception and a first down. Two plays later, Cory Cavender broke through for a 29-yard touchdown run, giving Burnet a 30-15 lead.

It would be the closest Waco University would come to the Bulldogs for the rest of the game.

On the next drive, Cavender demonstrated his defensive prowess as well when he picked off a Waco University pass and returned it to the Trojans’ 14-yard line. A penalty would push the Bulldogs back to the Waco University 29-yard line, but it really didn’t matter because Moore simply reconnected with Gallardo on the next play for a touchdown and a 37-15 lead for Burnet.

The Trojans added one more touchdown early in the fourth but saw any hope of a comeback fizzle when Gallardo took the kickoff from deep in Bulldog territory and returned it to the Waco University 33-yard line. A few plays later, Moore found Walker for an 18-yard score.

While it was a 30-point win, Jones saw things on which the Bulldogs could improve.

“It wasn’t really sharp tonight, not as sharp as last week (against Fredericksburg),” he said. “There still are some things we need to work on.”

But that’s not a bad thing, the coach acknowledged. With this only the fourth game of the season, it isn’t the best time to be peaking.

“We need to still be hungry,” Jones said. “We still need to want to get better. But I’m proud of the kids. They fought hard tonight.”

The Bulldogs hit the road Sept. 26 against the Taylor Ducks in Taylor at 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make the drive, you can hear the game on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or streamed over the Internet at KBEYFM.com.

daniel@thepicayune.com

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Waco University: 9-6-0-6 – 21

Burnet: 10-13-14-14 – 51

FIRST QUARTER

WU – Kenneth Woods 63-yard pass from Gustavo Ortega (kick failed), 11:41

WU – Gabriel Castillo 39-yard field goal, 8:44

B – Eric Walker 9-yard run (Alex Melvin kick), 7:09

SECOND QUARTER

WU – DaVonte Wilson 5-yard run (kick failed), 10:02

B – Cody Jones 39-yard pass from Austin Moore (Melvin kick), 8:37

B – Steven Gallardo 21-yard pass from Moore (kick failed), :23

THIRD QUARTER

B – Cory Cavender 29-yard run (Melvin kick), 7:00

B – Steven Gallardo 29-yard pass from Moore (Melvin kick), 4:16

FOURTH QUARTER

WU – Ortega 61-yard run (2-point try failed), 9:44

B – Walker 18-yard pass from Moore (Melvin kick), 8:32

B – Wesley Shackelford 98-yard run (Melvin kick), 2:15

TEAM STATS

WACO UNIVERSITY

Total net yards: 376

Rushes-yards: 46-278

Passing: 98

Interceptions: 3

Comp-att-int: 4-12-3

Fumbles-lost 4-2

BURNET

Total net yards: 517

Rushes-yards: 23-271

Passing: 246

Interceptions: 0

Comp-att-int: 16-26-0

Fumbles-lost: 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING – (Burnet) Wesley Shackelford 6-125-1 touchdown, Eric Walker 12-100-1 touchdown, Cory Cavender 2-41-1 touchdown, Steven Gallardo 2-5

PASSING – (Burnet) Austin Moore 15-25-234-4 touchdowns, Alex Melvin 1-1-12

RECEIVING – (Burnet) Cody Jones 6-101-1 touchdown, Gallardo 4-68-2 touchdowns, Walker 4-43-1 touchdown, Joel Johnson 1-28, Shackelford 1-6