The Amherst Bulldogs’ varsity football team won a non-district matchup over the Wellman-Union Wildcats last Thursday, 58-8, at halftime.
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-1 overall, 1-0 in district play.
The Bulldog defense got the game going for Amherst, as they forced a turnover on downs on the Wildcats’ first possession of the game, with 8:34 to play in the opening quarter.Amherst took over at their own 30-yard line, where sophomore, Kevin Garcia, took a carry up the middle across midfield to the Wellman-Union 33-yard line, moving the chains for the Bulldogs.
On the next play, freshman quarterback, Joel Garcia, dropped back and delivered a pass over the middle to senior, Isaac Herrera for a touchdown with 7:51 remaining in the first quarter. The kick by senior, Gabriel Garcia, was good, putting them in front, 8-0.
The Wildcats covered the onside kick at their own 33-yard line, where their offense took over for their second possession. They were able to drive the ball into Amherst territory, but on fourth and two at the 27-yard line, Elijah DePoyster’s pass fell short, looking for Tobias DePoyster, for a turnover on downs with 5:21 remaining in the quarter.
Amherst took over at their own 27yard line, as Kevin Garcia carried the ball on first down, but it was called back for a block in the back penalty, moving them back to the 28-yard line. Joel Garcia hit junior, Yahir Garcia, on a pass to the left, as he turned it up the Amherst sideline for a first down to move the chains for the Bulldogs.
With the ball at the Wildcat’s 36yard line, Joel Garcia dropped back and found Herrera on a pass to the right, as he took it down to the 18yard line for another Bulldog first down. On first down, Joel Garcia, again, found Herrera for the 18-yard touchdown pass with 3:46 to play in the quarter. The kick by Gabriel Garcia was good, pushing their lead to, 16-0.
The Wildcats were unable to get anything going on their next drive, as they punted the ball away on fourth and long with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter.Amherst took over at their own 31-yard line.
On first down, the Bulldogs ran a reverse to freshman,Aiden Rodriguez, who had a lot of green in front of him, but he had the ball stripped away and it was recovered by the Wildcats at their own 29-yard line with 1:19 to play in the quarter.
Tobias DePoyster’s pass on first down fell incomplete, and on second down, the Wildcats were able to draw an offsides penalty on the Bulldogs making it second and 10 from their own 34-yard line. Elijah DePoyster connected with Kyler Neill for a big gain down to theAmherst 18-yard line to move the chains. Elijah DePoyster carried the ball to the left for no gain, as the first quarter came to a close.
The Wildcats were flagged for illegal formation on second down, backing them up to third and 25 from the Amherst 25-yard line, and on third down, Elijah DePoyster connected with Tobias DePoyster to get about half of the yards to gain back, before he was tackled by Joel Garcia, bringing up fourth and 11 from the 14-yard line. The Wildcats elected to go for it on fourth down, as Elijah DePoyster rushed up the middle for the 14-yard score. The kick by Elijah DePoyster was good, trimming the lead to, 16-8, with 8:52 remaining in the first half.
Gabriel Garcia returned the onside kick from Elijah DePoyster back to the Wildcat 13-yard line, where Kevin Garcia carried the ball on first down for the 13-yard touchdown. The snap on the kick was bobbled and the onepoint pass from Gabriel Garcia to Herrera fell incomplete, leaving the score, 22-8, with 8:01 remaining in the half.
The kick-off for Amherst was touched before going 15-yards, giving the Wildcats the ball on their own 35-yard line with 8:01 to play in the second quarter. They didn’t have much going on the drive, and on fourth and eight, Joel Garcia picked off Elijah DePoyster, taking it 60 yards to the house for the Amherst touchdown. The one-point pass from Gabriel Garcia to Kevin Garcia fell incomplete, making the score, 28-8, with 5:59 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs elected to kick it deep and the ball was fielded by Clayton Cochran, but he fumbled and the ball was scooped up by Gabriel Garcia, who returned it for the short scoopand- score touchdown. The kick was good, pushing their lead to, 36-8, with 5:48 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats took over after a short kick-off at their own 35-yard line, but the Bulldog defense forced a turnover on downs, as Elijah DePoyster’s pass to Keagon Dominguez was dropped on fourth down with 3:55 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs took over at the Wildcat 31-yard line, as Kevin Garcia took the pitch to his right, before cutting back to his left for the 31-yard touchdown run. The one-point pass from Gabriel Garcia to Herrera was good, making the score, 43-8, with 3:44 to play in the half.
The Wildcats took over on offense at their own 34-yard line and were able to put together a promissing drive, but on first and 15 from the Amherst 19-yard line, Elijah DePoyster was picked off in the end zone by Herrera, who elected to bring it out of the end zone, taking it all the way back the other way for the 80-yard pick-six. The one-point pass to Kevin Garcia was good, making the score, 50-8, with 1:34 to play in the half.
The Wildcats got the ball back, but went three-and-out, punting the ball away with just under one minute to play in the half.
Amherst took over at their own 33yard line, as Joel Garcia dropped back and found Gabriel Garcia for a first down on the left side, taking the ball across midfield to the Wildcat 30-yard line. On first down, Joel Garcia found Herrera on the right sidefor 15-yards, setting up first and goal, as Amherst took a time out with 42.25 seconds to play in the half.
On first and goal, Herrera dropped back and found Yahir Garcia for the 15-yard touchdown pass. The kick by Gabriel Garcia was good, making the score, 58-8, with 31.98 seconds to play in the half.
The onside kick was recovered by Gabriel Garcia and the Bulldogs took a knee to kill the clock, as they took down the Wildcats, 58-8.
The Bullodgs will resume district play this week, as they return home for Homecoming to face the Hart Longhorns.
Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.