Bulldogs Lose by 1 Point to Woodville, CORRIGAN, August 28, 2010 - Most of the time when I come to cover the Corrigan Bulldogs varsity football team, I admit, I've sort of become accustomed to watching the Dogs impose their unrestrained will on their opponents. So last night when I arrived, I was pretty amped and ready to watch the Dogs smash the Woodville Eagles. I mean, come on, isn't Woodville that little town on 190 East that their only claim to fame is the Picket House restaurant? I've eaten there several times through the years and the Picket House has always been an exceptional dining experience that always satisfies. Corrigan won the coin toss and opted to kick off. On Woodville's like third offensive play, sophomore Chris Caballero intercepted a pass and returned it to inside the Woodville 5 yard line. A couple of plays later, the Dogs punched it in for a touchdown and I was thinking..."Oh yeah, tonight's gonna be a good good night". On the point after touchdown (PAT), the kicker missed wide left by like 20 feet (on an extra point?...What?). Corrigan held their lead for awhile until Woodville finally scored a touchdown AND MADE THEIR EXTRA POINT. That was it. That would sum up all the points scored (13 total counting both teams). What happened was the Dogs ran into a Woodville team that was quite formidable, and every bit as smash mouth as the Dogs. This night was a defensive struggle for both teams. Try as they may, other than a few runs for moderate gains, the Woodville Eagles shut down the Dogs running game. The Bulldogs rarely tried to pass the ball, and when they did, it was ineffective for the most part. That just about sums up how the evening went. Lots of punts, and the Woodville Eagles tried several fake punts that blew up in their face. I've long held the belief that a football team needs to have a kicker that's reliable. Because not every team they play is going to be an event where the Dogs steam roll their opponent, and in the end, a good kicker can pull the team through. Last night was a classic case. With Woodville nursing a 1 point lead for the entire second half, the Dogs got the ball with around 4 minutes left and managed to work the ball into field goal range...I mean chip shot range (with the help of a Woodville unsportsmanlike conduct penalty). If the Dogs had a reliable kicking game, they could have ran the clock down to less than a minute, send in their kicker and kick what amounted to just a little further than an extra point. I think head coach Seven Armstrong didn't have faith in his kicking game and felt his chances were better if they could buckle down and work the ball in with a smash mouth running game. But Woodville wasn't going to let that happen. An unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Dogs took 'em out of field goal range, and the Bulldogs last play was a hail mary pass that bounced around and made its way into the hands of a Woodville defender who got a decent return to the midfield area. The Eagles then just sat on the ball as the Dogs helplessly watched the time expire and thus their chances of winning a close ball game. To their credit, the Dogs' defense looked great. Let's hope the kicking situation gets fixed in a hurry. Next up, Diboll (nothing like a good ol' county border rivalry).
Willie Openshaw
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