Facing a newcomer to class 3A, the Bandera Bulldogs were pounced on by the Navarro Panthers 48-32 last Friday night under the lights of Geronimo Stadium.  The Bulldogs never gave up, scoring 19 points in the final quarter and remain hopeful for the remainder of the season.

            “I thought we played really well tonight, I think it’s the best game we had,” senior Alan Perez said. “We had a few mental mistakes, but I think if we cut those out, we will be good to go next week and get the win.” The Bulldogs face the Boerne Greyhounds, a primarily passing team next week at home for Senior Night.

             The Dogs were outdone on the night by Panther quarterback John Bormann who went 7 for 10 for 249 yards and three touchdowns.  The Panthers amassed 573 yards of total offense, with Eric Schleier rushing for 130 yards on 19 carries on their way to the win.

             In the first quarter, the Bulldogs countered an early Navarro score with a score of their own by junior running back Ryan Walker’s 26 yard run, followed by a PAT by junior quarterback Kyle Monroe, giving the Bulldogs a brief 7-6 lead. 

             Unfortunately, the Panthers scored 22 unanswered points before the half, making the score 28-7 at half-time. “We still made too many mental mistakes,” head coach Larry Prince said. “But I can’t be prouder of the way we played.”

             Coming out of the tunnel after half-time, Navarro again struck first on a Bormann to Bryan Aguilar 50 yard pass reception.  Aguilar accounted for 191 yards on three catches for three TDs for the Panthers.

 But, proving “There is no die in us, no quit, no give up,” as Prince said, the Bulldogs answered with a 51 yard run by sophomore running back Michael Miller for their second TD of the night, bringing the score to 35-13 going into the fourth quarter.

Opening the final quarter, Navarro’s Kurt Chalmers scored on a 41 yard run, capped a Tim Gill PAT making the score 42-13, but then the Bulldogs exploded for 19 points, outscoring Navarro in the fourth.

Walker scored on a 64 yard pass and a 40 yard pass and junior wide receiver Travis Stewart scored his first varsity TD on a 10 yard Monroe pass.  “We had good blocking, Gabe (O’Dell) ran a good route and got their guy off me so I could get it into the end zone,” Stewart said.

Once again, Walker led the Bulldogs offense with 21 rushes for 98 yards and 4 catches for 135 yards, making it another 200+ yard night for the junior.  Junior Josh Young added to the Bulldogs ground attack with five rushes for 43 yards.  Monroe finished the night with 6 of 13 passing for 172 yards.

Though senior kicker Hope Garwood dressed out for the game, and even set up for a final attempt at a PAT, her first kick of the season will have to wait until Friday’s game against Boerne. Game time is 7:30 at Bulldog Stadium, with Senior Night activities beginning around 6:45PM.