Polk County Sports

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JaVarion Williams breaks free for a big kickoff return.

By Albert Trevino

The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs have a two-game win streak to start the season after defeating the Centerville Tigers 27-19 on the road Friday.

It was a physical battle until the end, just as advertised, with Centerville and Corrigan swinging the momentum throughout the night and taking it into overtime.

“We did what we had to in order to win.” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “Coach Hardee has those kids hardnosed ... We knew we were going to have to play all four quarters and it actually took longer, but we did it.”

JaVarion Williams throws a touchdown under pressure on a reverse play. (PHOTOS BY ALBERT TREVINO)The Bulldog coaching staff made the necessary adjustments to help keep offense flowing and had the defense stepping up with big stops late in the game.

“These kids played the perfect team game tonight ... They did their jobs and what we ask of them. After four quarters and a little bit, it feels good to get this win.” Ratliff said. “[Centerville] had to earn every single yard that they got. [Defensively,] we had them figured out when it mattered the most.”

Corrigan struck first on the opening play from scrimmage with a reverse to senior JaVarion Williams, who threw his first highlight pass of the game to sophomore receiver Tony Cooper for a 68-yard touchdown.

Later in the first quarter, Tiger sophomore running back Andrew Newman answered by returning a punt over 50 yards to score and tie the game at seven points each.

Centerville would take a lead early in the second quarter with a strong drive, capped off with a short touchdown run by junior running back John Robinson. 

The two-point attempt was intercepted and no good, which made it a 13-7 lead for the Tigers.

Late in the half, the Bulldog offense turned the ball over inside the red zone on a fumbled handoff. However, the Tigers would fumble the ball right back to Corrigan. 

That turnover led to a short scoring drive for the Bulldogs, featuring some different formations with Williams and senior Deveion White under the gun. The drive was finished with a short touchdown run by White.

Tiger fullback Paxton Hancock is stopped by the Corrigan defense for a short gain.Corrigan’s extra kick was blocked, which tied the game at 13 points at halftime.

The Tigers came out strong in the third quarter, with junior fullback Paxton Hancock powering through 80-yards for a touchdown run. The two-point attempt was no good.

Late in the third, Williams’ second highlight pass would occur on a severely botched play.

A high snap fumble in the backfield was recovered by Williams, who also managed to sling the ball to senior receiver Ruger McLain under heavy pressure.

McLain broke away inside Tiger territory for another game-tying touchdown, followed by one last failed extra point.

Both defenses managed a shutout in the fourth quarter, which led to overtime.

Corrigan first took the field in overtime and scored on a Williams run, followed by a successful two-point pass. The Bulldog defense carried this momentum and followed this up with a quick three-and-out against Centerville to seal the victory.

The Bulldogs play their next match at home against the Woodville Eagles Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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Julian Gardner stiff arms a defender after the catch.

By Brian Besch

The offense sputtered and the defense allowed too many explosive plays, as the Livingston Lions (1-1) fell to Tyler Chapel Hill (2-0) 35-15 Friday. Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches was the setting for the rematch of two teams that met in the postseason’s first round last year.Quarterback Tyler Jones (14-for-25, 328 yards, 4 TDs, INT) and the high-powered Bulldog offense delivered big plays consistently enough to keep the Lion defense guessing. A 28-yard run, and passes of 84, 63, 60 and 28 yards were all Chapel Hill scoring plays, while adding a 13-yard sack for a safety. Jones found four different receivers for the scores, but hit Deuce McGregor (5 catches, 153 yards, TD) most in the game.  

Jontavian McNeal extends for the loose ball."It was a bad night of tackling and they got us on the post routes deep like they did last year,” Livingston coach Finis Vanover said. “We have to get in better shape. We weren't in as good of shape to play as many snaps on both sides of the ball. Some of our guys got a shock tonight, but they are not all of that until they get their legs ready to go. They have to be ready to play whether they are tired or not. 

“There were way too many busted assignments and we dropped the ball too much. We didn't protect the passer early and we started making poor decisions from the quarterback position. They buggered us up a little bit physically because of the double duty from a lot of folks and we had some guys out that we have been using for depth."After gaining 500 yards a week ago, the Livingston offense had problems sustaining drives or converting fourth downs with short yardage. Keeping Bulldog defenders out of the backfield proved to be a too large a task. Quarterback Damian Ruiz (7-for-18, 115 yards, TD), and later Jontavian McNeal, spent the night scrambling from the pocket, and Lion rushers had no room to generate yardage. "We made mistakes in the first half offensively when we had our first three drives," Vanover said. "We wanted to control the tempo of the game and we did and moved it down and would have a snafu. Three out of five possessions we had a chance."

The two Lion touchdowns would come on long pass plays. The first was a pass from Ruiz to Kendrick Williams on a fake punt for 60 yards. The next was backup quarterback McNeal, who found Julian Gardner (3 catches, 93 yards) for 65 yards.

Kendrick Williams 250 lft"They are a fine football team and they showed up to play,” the coach said of Chapel Hill. “We had our chances to punch back and forth. They were better than we were tonight and they got us pretty good. They physically manhandled us inside on both sides of the ball well over half of the time and you can't lose that battle. They pushed and pulled inside and we couldn't."The coach mentioned the Lions are in about the same position as last season's second game, coming off a 28-7 loss to Palestine. In 2020, Livingston began an eight-game winning streak by defeating Orangefield. The Lions will travel to Orangefield Friday to battle the Bobcats.

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Arly Balbuena sets for Aralyn Angel. (PHOTOS BY BRIAN BESCH | PCE)

Brian Besch
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The Goodrich Lady Hornets dropped the first game of Tuesday’s match, but quickly came back to take the contest in four over Lufkin Hudson 17-25, 25-20, 25-20 and 25-18.

It is Goodrich’s second win of the volleyball season, with just as many over Hudson. 

“We have improved a whole lot,” new Goodrich coach Pinellafie Johnson said. “I am pleased with the passing, but we definitely need to work a little more on our serving. We missed entirely too many serves and I told him we can’t win too many games without serves. I don’t mind missing volleys, but the serves we have to get over.” 

Sophomore Daisy Stutts passes to a teammate.Goodrich came from behind in the second game — down 14-11 — going on a 13-2 run and flipping the score to a 24-16 advantage. Daisy Stutts served well during the run and Aralyn Angel was all over the court, able to pass the teammates to get the ball back over.

Jamya Garrett sends the ball back over.Johnson was also impressed with her young setter, Arly Balbuena.

“To have a freshman to set for you, that is awesome. Not knowing anything about the game and just picking it up like that,” the coach said. “Anytime you tell her to do something, she is there to do it.

“All of the others, they all contributed at one point in the game. It is a team effort. We worked well as a team and we were in place for the ball. A lot of times it just hit off the wrong hand or we called it too late. They are learning, they are getting there, and they are young. I was pleased with the effort tonight.”

Goodrich is now 2-6 on the season, with both wins over Class 4A Lufkin Hudson. However, the 1A school has played mostly 4A and 5A competition in tournaments to prepare for district.

Johnson said her junior high program has a few more girls than the eight that are on the varsity roster, but she is satisfied with the young group she has. There are only two upperclassmen — a junior and senior. Goodrich will next play at Burkeville Friday and returns home for Coldspring Tuesday.

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Kadyn Burke waits behind his linemen as they push forward. (Photos by Albert Trevino

By Albert Trevino
PCE Reporter

The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs earned a 35-14 victory against the rival Bulldogs from Crockett in the season opener Friday.

It was a competitive match for most of the night, but it was Corrigan’s hustle and physicality in the second half that outlasted Crockett as they pulled ahead.

The matchup featured a strong performance from junior quarterback, Christian Guzman who had Corrigan’s offense in sync this time around versus Crockett.

“[Guzman] is no doubt the driver of what we are trying to do offensively and as a team.” said Ratliff. “He is the prototypical quarterback in the fact that he is very cool, calm and collected...It took him a year to learn what we were trying to do and being able to command the offense. You saw tonight, what a difference 365 days makes.”

The Corrigan defense swarms to Crockett quarterback Jadyn Collins. Corrigan’s young defense also made a huge impact with several crucial stops against the size of Crockett’s starting junior quarterback Jadyn Collins and his receivers.

“Defensively, we swarmed to the football and played great pass defense against what I thought was a great quarterback [in Collins .] He is a college-level quarterback.” Ratliff said. “I could not be more proud of the heart and fight of every single player of this team.”

Corrigan’s rush offense developed an early rhythm on the opening possession, reaching Crockett territory. However, this was stopped with the team’s first turnover on a fumble by senior running back Deveion White.

Unable to capitalize, Crockett’s offense stalled near midfield on its first possession.

Going into the second quarter, Corrigan put together a drive first sparked by a reverse to senior JaVarion Williams, then a long keeper by Guzman to midfield.

Junior running back Anthony Harrell later helped finish the job with a short touchdown run on third and goal. Along with the extra point kick by junior Pablo Jimenez, Corrigan took the 7-0 lead early in the second.

Corrigan’s defense quickly put Crockett next possession to rest with a big stop and turnover on downs.

The following drive for Corrigan had a few negative plays, but was continually answered back with offensive sparks.

This included the toss to Williams on fourth down that went 21 yards for a touchdown to help extend the lead for Corrigan 14-0 with a little over two minutes in the half.

Those two minutes were more than enough for Collins to connect on a long pass inside Corrigan territory, then make a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Tyrek Houston to make it a one-score game at halftime.

Crockett’s offense came out aggressive to start the third quarter. On the first play, Collins passed up the middle to senior Crowley Pierce, who took it all to way to the redzone.

Shortly after, Collins found a running lane to go 11 yards for the game-tying touchdown early in the third.

JaVarion Williams returns the opening kickoff against Crockett.

Corrigan responded on the following drive with Harrell finding room along the right sideline to sprint 69 yards for the touchdown. That extra point was blocked, but Corrigan took back momentum and never let go.

Late in the third, Guzman scored another six on a long keeper as he broke tackles and stretched the ball past the goaline. This extended the lead 26-14 for Corrigan.

Backed into their own territory in the fourth quarter, Collins threw a short pick right into the hands of Corrigan junior Morgan Rayburn. This set up a short field for Corrigan to seal the game on another rushing touchdown by Harrell.

After Crockett turned over the ball again, Corrigan managed to top of the night with a successful field goal attempt by Jimenez within the final seconds.

Ratliff is determined to carry his team’s energy into next week as he continues to emphasize the heart and tradition of Corrigan-Camden football.

“We are going to do what the sign says on our practice field. We are going to outhit, outhustle and outlast.” said Ratliff. “That is something that was ingrained in me since I was here as a player. That is something that is never going away. We proved that here tonight.”

The Bulldogs will travel to Centerville for their next game this Friday at 7:30 p.m.