The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs fell 56-35 on the road to the Joaquin Rams on Friday.
The expected physical battle lived up to hype and even left a dent along the sideline fencing at Ram Stadium, as Corrigan fought hard with explosive plays to put up points.
“We knew they were physical and a good, solid football team,” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “I saw glimpses of what we can be when we put it all together and we are really good. If we could clean up the mistakes, we would be winning games and not just be in them.”
Corrigan mixed up its offense with solid runs, which helped set up pass plays to convert on third downs.
“We caught some big passes at times tonight and we are going to need that for crucial games coming up,” Ratliff said.
After a three-and-out start by the Bulldogs, Ram senior quarterback Justyn Brown threw a deep pass to junior Max Garvin near the goal line. Brown would run the quarterback sneak for the one-yard yard Joaquin touchdown to go up 8-0 with the two-point conversion.
Corrigan’s offense started moving the chains going into the second quarter. After converting on short passes, Bulldog junior quarterback William Ratliff made a couple of big runs as well.
The Bulldogs even had the Rams jumping the snap a couple of times for first-down penalties. Later, Bulldog junior tight end Tahj Thomas caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Michael Sullivan, getting his feet inside the corner of the end zone. This made it 8-7 early in the second quarter.
However, Joaquin quickly responded, as senior running back Tate Bass broke through a couple of tackles for a 60-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to seven points.
Corrigan answered again with a haymaker, as Ratliff pulled away for a massive touchdown run on a quarterback keeper. The extra point was blocked, so the Bulldogs remained behind by one.
Joaquin did not stop gaining yards in chunks. Ram senior running back Dallon Jordan exploded for a long touchdown run. This extended the lead again 20-13 after the missed extra kick.
Corrigan was backed into their own territory following the next kickoff, then threw an interception, placing the Rams near the goal line. Bass would take it in for another Joaquin touchdown to make it a 28-13 lead.
The Bulldogs caught a break late in the half, as the Ram offense coughed up the ball at midfield.
Ratliff took a big run to get inside the five-yard line. This is where Sullivan was slammed into the sideline fence while lead blocking, which put it even closer. Then, Bulldog sophomore Derrick Reggie powered through into the end zone for the touchdown. The two-point pass conversion made it a one-score game again.
However, Joaquin refused to give up momentum, as Bass ran for another 60-plus yarder to extend the lead 34-21 at halftime.
Rams senior running back Elijah Hardison started the third quarter with a big run into Bulldog territory. This was followed by Jordan catching a pass and breaking a sideline tackle to get in the end zone for another Joaquin touchdown.
After a promising drive ended in a fumble for Corrigan, Hardison cut through tackles for a long touchdown run to further extend to a 48-21 lead.
A strong kickoff return on the next possession set up strong field position for Corrigan.
Ratliff later managed to make a highly contested catch in the end zone to finally respond and make it 48-28 late in the third.
Joaquin quickly put together another scoring drive, capped off with a touchdown run by Hardison. This made it 56-28 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldog defense recovered a fumble later in the fourth to start near midfield. Corrigan’s offense then marched into the red zone. Bulldog junior tailback Mason Murphy helped take it the rest of the way, also punching in the one-yard touchdown to cut it to the final score in the closing minutes.
Corrigan will host the Groveton Indians for the first district match of the season Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 pm.
