The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs fell 34-28 in a non-district road match against the Kirbyville Wildcats on Friday.
In a second-straight loss on the road, the Bulldogs trailed most of the game to Kirbyville and struggled with unforced errors on offense. This included a lack of ball security at crucial moments.
“If we could hold on to the ball and finish those drives, we should win the football game, plain and simple,” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “Our defense kept us in the game, but I am not going to dismmiss the grit and fight.”
Corrigan still threatened to comeback from a 20-point deficit, but fell short in the final moments.
“They put a good stunt on us, pinned us back and put us in a bind on that last drive,” Ratliff said. “It is dissappointing, but we fought hard and we need that in our young group.”
Bulldog sophomore running back Derrick Reagie started the night with a big first-down run to get near midfield. Then, a blocking penalty and fumble in the backfield led to Corrigan turning the ball over to the Wildcats early.
However, Kirbyville immediately gave up the ball with their own fumble on the snap, recovered by Bulldog defensive end Clark Evans.
Corrigan’s offense capitalized with Reagie bulldozing his way to another first down inside the red zone, then punching in a three-yard touchdown run to help give the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead.
A facemask penalty against the Corrigan defense kept Kirbyville’s next possession alive.
On a fourth-and-goal, Wildcat senior tight end Ethan Rawls caught a pass from senior quarterback Jace Huffman and plowed up the middle for Kirbyville’s first touchdown to tie the game.
Despite the Bulldog offense marching into Kirbyville territory, the Bulldogs would stall out and then get picked off by Wildcat senior Layton David.
The Kirbyville offense immediately took advantage with Huffman throwing a long bomb to Wildcat sophomore receiver Jacob Telles for an 80-yard touchdown to take the lead.
Corrigan would try to respond with a big run by Bulldog junior Mason Murphy. However, Murphy fumbled the ball near the sideline, which was recovered by the Wildcats.
Shortly after, Wildcat sophomore receiver Cooper Murphy would take a quick screen all the way for a long touchdown pass to extend the lead 21-7 late in the half.
With one more scoring opportunity before halftime, Corrigan would be stopped again in Kirbyville territory on a bad handoff to turn the ball over going into halftime.
The Bulldogs got a big boost to start the third with junior linebacker Tahj Thomas snatching up a pick-six when Kirbyville was deep in their own territory. This helped Corrigan cut the deficit 21-14 with the extra point.
The Wildcats responded quickly, driving the ball on offense with a long pass, then punching it in on a touchdown run to go back up by two scores.
Corrigan’s offense continued to fight on the ground, but stalled out again just a little past midfield.
Huffman would take the ball on a quarterback keeper to finish Kirbyville’s next drive for another Wildcat touchdown to sstretch the lead 34-14 going into the fourth quarter.
Then, a shaky possession by Kirbyville with bad snaps and fumbles help set up good field position for Corrigan inside the final minutes.
Bulldog senior quarterback Michael Sullivan immediately took a keeper along the left side for a long-distance rushing touchdown to help cut the deficit again 34-21 midway through the fourth.
Shortly after, the Bulldogs forced another punt by Kirbyville and got the ball near midfield inside of four minutes.
Bulldog junior quarterback William Ratliff would throw the ball to sophomore tight end Braylon Levy, who broke a tackle at the goal line for another Corrigan touchdown.
This would make it a one-score game and give the Bulldogs hope to steal the game.
Kirbyville was inside Bulldog territory after the failed onside kick, but Corrigan’s defense held strong, making crucial run stops, also using their remaining timeouts to save clock.
With just 90 seconds left, Corrigan’s offense started deep in their own territory and suffered a pre-snap penalty, going back further. Sullivan would later be forced backward to toss another interception, falling short on the last posssession.
Corrigan will play its next non-district match at home versus the Elkhart Elks, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
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