The Wortham Bulldogs had their second long trip to open the season and Rio Vista hit some big plays late and sent the Bulldogs to a split of the two long trips in a 22-12 loss Friday night.
The Bulldogs will host their home opener on Friday night when the Leon Cougars visit the historic rock wall stadium in Wortham.
The two teams exchanged possessions in the first quarter. Wortham had a short punt to open the game and then they exchanged fumbles in a scoreless first quarter.
The Eagles finished the first quarter with a drive that began at midfield and worked their wat inside the Bulldog 25. The drive stalled at the 18 and Tate Conley came on to attempt a 35-yard field. The kick missed the mark, and the score remained tied at zero and they would exchange punts, the Rio Vista punt pinning the Bulldogs at the six-yard line.
Kymani Johnson broke loose on a 34-yard run to the Bulldog 37 and Yancey Bean added a 13-yard run to midfield. Johnson had another ten-yard run and he would catch a 21-yard pass inside the Eagle 20. Quarterback Jon Ross Black ran for 11 to near the goal line and then passed to Johnson for the short touchdown. The run for two was no good and the Bulldogs took the 6-0 lead with 3:59 remaining in the half.
The Eagles wasted no time in answering when the kick came down. It lands in the arms of Ashton Huey, and he went to his right and broke left on the 79-yard touchdown return. The snap was not handled on the point after, and the score was tied 6-6.
The Bulldogs stalled on their next drive and the Eagles went into their two-minute offense. Huey caught a 28-yard pass and quarterback Kaiden Scott completed four passes on the drive, the final one to Conley down to the seven. Conley ended the half with a 24-yard field goal to put the Eagles ahead 9-6 as both teams headed for the locker room.
Rio Vista took the first possession of the second half and marched 62 yards in ten plays to extend the lead. On third down, Scott hit Dawson Macklin for a 53-yard catch and run and on the final play, a fourth down attempt, hit Macklin for the nine-yard touchdown and after the missed extra point, the Eagles led 15-6.
Wortham used up the final minutes of the third and four minutes of the fourth to draw the game close. The running of Black, including runs of ten and 21, along with a pass to Johnson for 12, put the Bulldogs in position for a one-yard touchdown run. The try for two was no good and the Bulldogs cut the lead to 15-12.
The Eagles answered in only five plays, the final a spectacular connection to Huey for a 50-yard touchdown. Conley hit the point after for 22-12 lead, which would be the final score.
(Photos by Renee Bean)
