Fourth-quarter drives lift Burnet football team over Rockdale 20-9

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BURNET — After a grinding first three quarters, the Burnet Bulldogs offense capitalized on big plays to beat the Rockdale Tigers 20-9 on Sept. 6.

“I’m proud of the way our kids hung in there,” Burnet head football coach Kurt Jones said. “(Rockdale) is a great team. They’re strong. They’re fast. But our kids just didn’t give up.”

The two teams’ offenses showed big sparks in the first three quarters, but neither could manage to get into the end zone. The game appeared to rest on the foot of each teams’ kickers.

Burnet’s Austin Huff connected with two 32-yard field goals in the first and third quarters, while Rockdale added a 34-yarder in the second.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs’ offense, under the guidance of senior quarterback Derek Kiser, put together back-to-back touchdown drives.

The first one started when Kiser hit wide receiver Cody Jones for a 38-yard pass completion that gave the Bulldogs a first down on Rockdale’s 32-yard line. Burnet benefitted from a Rockdale horse-collar penalty that put the Bulldogs on the Tigers’ 12-yard line. Two plays later, Burnet’s Trenton Hafley bulled in from two yards out for his first of two touchdowns on the night.

Burnet’s defense then shut down Rockdale, putting the ball back in the Bulldogs’ hands with 7:59 left in the game.

Again, Kiser mustered his team and drove 79 yards this time. He and Hafley teamed up for a 17-yard pass. Kiser added 12 yards on his own feet during the drive before Brock Foster rushed for 10 more.

Then, on a first-and-10 situation on Rockdale’s 36-yard line, Kiser hit Foster for a 24-yard completion, setting up Burnet on the Tigers’ two-yard line.

On the next play, Hafley again pushed his way through the Tigers’ defense for the score.

Rockdale wasn’t done though.

The Tigers picked up the pace on offense. It took Rockdale quarterback Clayton Gibbs about two minutes and 15 seconds to drive down the field before he dove in from one yard out for a touchdown. The point-after attempt failed.

The Tigers’ onside kick attempt didn’t work, and Burnet ran out the clock for the win.

“Offensively, we went back to what we do best,” Jones said. “Maybe we out-thought ourselves earlier in the game.”

With the win, Burnet improves to 2-0 on the season. On Sept. 13, the Bulldogs host the Marble Falls Mustangs, a game Jones knows people are already talking about.

“We just need to get better week to week,” he said. “We definitely have a big game in front of us.”

daniel@thepicayune