Bullpups inches from tying game

Burnet opened the game by kicking to Mountain Valley and from the first play the Bullpups were all over the football, coaches said. 

In the first quarter Mountain Valley had a difficult time moving the ball against the Burnet swarming defense. Spencer Ray, Zach Bobo, Justin Parrot, Faron Nichols, Chris Flores, Shawn Chambers, Chris Brobst and Brian Everett accounted for several tackles for losses.  

Will Kyle, Ronnie Dean, Cody Nodecker, Colton Rockafellow, Chris Reyes, Dominic Garcia, Hunter Wolff, Spencer O’Boyle and Josh Moore played great against the passing game and made several outstanding plays all game, coaches said.  

Mountain Valley was able to finally move the ball late in the first quarter and converted on several key fourth down plays, they added. 

Mountain Valley managed to score on the opening play of the second quarter and led, 8-0.

The Bullpups had trouble moving the ball in the first half, coaches said. Several missed blocks, dropped passes and penalties stalled any drive Burnet managed to get, they said.  

The Bullpups finally managed to move the ball with less than a minute remaining in the first half, coaches said. 

“The big play came on a lateral pass when Rockafellow threw a lateral to Blaine Schilling, who then threw the ball down field to Spencer Ray for a pickup of 42 yards,” coach Ken Bauer said. 

That put Burnet inside the 25, but time ran out before the players could score.

 The Bullpups opened the second half with the ball and started off a little sluggish, coaches said. 

After a missed snap and a penalty, Burnet got a 49-yard run by Braiden Bannister to the 30-yard line.

With back-to-back trap runs by Ray and Kenneth Wisian, the Bullpups had first and goal from the three.  

Bannister was able to punch through a hole with a three-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed, 8-6.

This drive was all set up by the blocking of Austin Mullins, Bobo, Parrot, Flores and Adam Gregg, coaches said.

 Taylor Benitz, Keenan Murchison and Jordon Poe had tremendous plays to help the Bullpups spring life, coaches said.  

The third quarter was pretty much a stalemate, coaches said.

With five minutes left in the game, Mountain Valley scored on a 40-yard run, 14-6.

On the next Burnet possession, the Bullpups fumbled on an end-around.  

With time ticking down, Burnet came up big, coaches said, and managed to force a fumble of their own.  

With less than two minutes to go, Ray took a reverse and picked up 20 yards, but a penalty pushed the gain to only 10, coaches said, setting up a big third-down play. Rockafellow gave the defense a quick pump fake and then threw a pass to Ray, who made a catch for a 32-yard gain.  

The Bullpups were faced with a fourth and nine and attempted the Boise State University Statue of Liberty to Ray. However, he was tackled just inches from the marker, forcing a turnover on downs with 25 seconds left.

The green team, which did not win a game all season, played much better than the record showed, Bauer said.  

“The boys played hard, and I couldn’t be more proud of the progress we have made,” he said. “Several of the kids have made so much improvement, and I hope they continue to grow and progress.”