The Wortham Bulldogs battled from behind 22 points to take a second half lead but a late surge boosted the Price Carlisle Indians into the regional round of the playoffs with a 40-36 win over the Bulldogs. Wortham ends its season at 9-3.
Wortham had to fight through injuries and the Indian defense to get back into the ball game after falling behind 28-6 into the second quarter. Tanner Bean left the game a number of times, nursing a leg injury and continued to come back into the game and battle until there was no time left on the clock.
Carlisle took the opening kickoff and after picking up a quick first down, they had to punt. The snap sailed high over the punters head and he was able to get the ball and get a kick away and the Bulldogs began in decent field position but they would have to punt after a quarterback sack deep in their own end of the field.
The Indians took the ball on a short kick and went to work on the Bulldog defense. Brody Eaves, nearing 2000 rushing yards on the season, carried for a first down and converted a fourth down inside the Wortham 15. Junior quarterback Fernando Espinoza found Trent Eaves for an 11-yard touchdown to put the first points on the board. David DeLeon added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead.
The next Wortham drive ended in a sack of senior quarterback Ryken Lewis after a good kickoff return by Yancey Bean. Lewis tried to scramble out of the pocket and was tripped up and the Indians took over near midfield. After Eaves picked up a first down, Espinoza hit Clayton Hear up the seam for a 46-yard touchdown and the Indians led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Indian defense had yet another stop on a fourth down and were in danger of blowing the game wide open. On second down from the Indian 28, Espinoza was under pressure and hit by Cash Perez and Yancey Bean. Bean reached out and knocked the ball loose and recovered it at the Indian 19-yard line. Three plays later, sophomore Kymani Johnson scored on a six-yard touchdown run to cut into the Carlisle lead. The conversion run was no good and the Indians led 14-6 with 8:21 remaining in the first half.
Carlisle wasted little time putting themselves up to a 20 plus point lead. Espinoza and Eaves teamed up on a 37-yard touchdown pass and then got the turnover on an interception by Brody Eaves. Espinoza found Hart for his second touchdown of the half and the fourth touchdown pass of the game for Espinoza. DeLeon added the extra points and the Carlisle lead swelled to 28-6 with only 3:24 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs put another touchdown on the board before the half would end. Tanner Bean returned to the game and had a couple of first down runs. On third and 13 from the Indian 29, Lewis rolled right and threw back to Bean on a screen pass and Tanner Bean took care of the rest for the touchdown. He added the conversion run to cut the lead to 28-14.
Carlisle did move their offense inside the 35 and had one chance with one second remaining after a pass interference penalty on the Bulldogs. The pass never left the line of scrimmage when Yancey Bean knocked it away.
The second half began with the Bulldogs on offense and Yancey Bean would spell his brother at times, but the Wortham offense owned the third quarter. Tanner Bean and Lewis each had runs on the 11-play drive to open the second half. Lewis converted another third down with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Bean cut the lead to single digits. Tanner Bean also added the conversion run and the lead was under a score since early in the game.
Carlisle worked into Wortham territory with an Eaves 25 yard run to the Bulldog 23. He took a second handoff and linebacker Jake Bayer knocked the ball loose and Johnson fell on it and the Wortham offense went back on the field.
Yancey Bean had a couple of runs for a first down and Lewis went deep to Derek Bullard. He hauled in a high throw over Brody Eaves and was tackled at the Indian 13 for a 59-yard gain. Three plays later, Tanner Bean took the pitch and scored on an 11-yard run and his conversion run gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 30-28.
The Indians would not be outdone and they took less than two minutes to regain the lead. Espinoza completed all three passes on the drive, the last to Roberto Camacho inside the Bulldog five-yard line. DeLeon took the handoff and scored on the four-yard run and the conversion was no good and the Indians led 34-30 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The teams exchanged possessions and Lewis was intercepted and the Indians attempted to put the game away. Hart scored on a 17-yard touchdown run to extend the lead back to double digits at 40-30. The conversion failed on a big hit by Bullard and the Indians had a ten-point lead with 4:39 remaining in the game.
Wortham put together a pressure packed drive to put the outcome into question. Lewis carried for a first down and Bean had a 17-yard run down to the Indian 32. After a penalty and a great defensive play on a screen pass and the Bulldogs faced a third and 19. A pass to Isaiah Tull picked up 12 yards and Lewis threw high and Tanner Bean skyed for the catch and picked up the first down at the Indian 13. Lewis rolled to his left and was under pressure and passed into the end zone. The pass was tipped and Tull reached out and caught the touchdown with 1:28 remaining in the game. Wortham had cut the lead to 40-36 after the failed conversion run.
The Bulldogs special teams could not successfully execute the onsides kick and the Indians needed Wortham to burn their final two timeouts. On third and one, Hart took the handoff and picked up big yardage. As he was being tackled, Jon Ross Black reached in and ripped the ball free and Wortham took over at their 19-yard line with a minute left and no timeouts.
On the first play, Lewis passed downfield and the ball was intercepted by Espinoza near midfield, sealing the Price-Carlisle win.
The Wortham Bulldogs end their season with a 9-3 record and were runner-up to top ranked Mart in district play. They would have a special year with senior running back Tanner Bean setting several school records adding his name among the great Bulldog players of all time. The Wortham senior playing their final game are Tanner Bean, Ryken Lewis, Isaiah Tull, Preston Batts, Cody Jones, Jake Bayer, Preston Sterling, Mason Montgomery, Kendon Busby, Jason Evans, Bobby Preston and Perry Freeman.
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
