Burnet Bulldogs fall 45-13 to state-ranked Lampasas
Burnet junior running back Marcus Escamilla gains some of his 83 rushing yards during the 45-13 loss to Lampasas on October 11. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Ludecke Photography
In the District 14-4A Division I opener October 11, the Burnet Bulldogs ended the first half and started the second half with scoring drives, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the state-ranked Lampasas Badgers.
The Badgers (5-1, 1-0) beat Burnet 45-13 in Lampasas. Burnet drops to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in district.
The Badgers jumped out to an 18-0 lead, including two safeties, in the first half. With about two minutes left before halftime, Burnet quarterback Matthew Tippie and the Bulldogs offense mounted an attack, starting on the Lampasas 48-yard line.
Eventually, Burnet made it to the Badgers’ 12-yard line, where Tippie connected with Luke Kiser for a touchdown.
A 2-point conversion try failed, but Burnet headed into the half only trailing 18-6 and knowing they would get the ball to start the second half.
And they didn’t waste the opportunity.
The Bulldogs started the opening drive of the second half on their own 30-yard line. They pushed their way to the Badgers’ 49-yard line, where Marcus Escamilla rambled through the middle for a Burnet touchdown.
With the point-after attempt, Burnet cut into Lampasas’ lead, 18-13.
But No. 9-ranked Lampasas answered right back on the ensuing drive. Badgers quarterback Ace Whitehead hit Jaylon Porter for a 27-yard touchdown pass, and Lampasas extended their lead to 25-13.
The Bulldogs couldn’t answer back offensively on their next drive, but the Burnet defense gave the Badgers quite a shock.
Lampasas worked their way down to the 1-yard line of Burnet during a third quarter drive. The Bulldogs held on the Badgers first attempt to push into the end zone and stopped them about half a yard short of the goal.
On the next snap, the exchange between the center and Whitehead didn’t quite go so well and the ball ended up on the ground. It slipped into the end zone, where a Bulldog came up with it.
Along with denying Lampasas a touchdown and recovering the fumble, it set the Burnet offense up on their own 20-yard line.
Unfortunately, Burnet couldn’t take advantage. At one point, Tippie took a hard hit on the drive, and left the game.
The rest of the game, it was all Lampasas, who went on to add three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs host Canyon Lake at Bulldog Field on Friday, October 18. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
editor@thepicayune.com