The Amherst Bulldogs’ varsity football team took down Springlake-Earth’s JV on Thursday at Bulldog Stadium, 52-6.
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 2-1 overall on the year.
Springlake-Earth got the ball at their own 20 after a touchback on the opening kick- off from Amherst.
Joshua Holloway carried the ball on first down, picking up five yards on the inside run and the Wolverines picked up four more yards on second down to make it third and six from their own 34yard line. They picked up two yards on third down and elected to for it on fourth and short, as the quarterback kept it himself picking up the first down, as the ball was spotted at the 35-yard line.
The drive came to a screeching halt, as a bad exchange in the backfield was covered by Holloway at the Wolverine’s 22yard line. On third and long, Josiah Castillo was picked off by Aiden Rodriguez, who took it to the house for the pick-six with 5:57 remaining in the opening quarter. Rodriguez’s kick was good, making the score, 8-0.
The Wolverines would recover the onside kick, but were unable to get anything going offensively, as they turned it over on downs with 3:40 remaining in the quarter.
Amherst took over at the Springlake-Earth 28-yard line, as Kevin Garcia took a carry up the middle running over defenders on his way down to the 10-yard line to set up first and goal. On the next play, Kevin Garcia took it again up the middle, taking it down to the one-yard line. Freshman, Dakari Lee, would run in for the touchdown for Amherst with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter. and the kick by Rodriguez was good, pushing their lead to, 16-0.
Springlake-Earth got the ball back at their own 34-yard line, as Holloway took a dive up the middle, breaking loose to his left for the 46-yard touchdown run. A bad snap on the kick was fielded by the Wolverines, but they were stopped short of the endzone, leaving the score, 16-6, with 1:43 to play in the quarter.
The Bulldogs got a big kick return from Rodriguez, setting them up with first and 15 from the Wolverine’s 25-yard line. Joel Garcia’s pass to Rodriguez on first down fell incomplete in the endzone, but on the next play, Kevin Garcia carried the ball to his right, taking it down to the fiveyard line, before he was brought down by the defense setting up first and goal. He would punch it in on the next play and Rodriguez followed it up with the kick, making the score, 24-6, with under a minute to go in the first quarter.
Springlake-Earth’s next drive would extend into the second quarter, but the Wolverines were stopped on fourth down by Rodriguez, turning it over on downs with 9:07 to play in the first half.
Amherst took over at their own 27-yard line, as Joel Garcia completed a pass to his left to Kevin Garcia, who cut it up the sideline before being brought down at midfield. Kevin Garcia carried the ball to his right on second down, but was stopped for no gain by Holloway, however, on third down, Joel Garcia connected with Guillermo Pacheco on a pass to the left, as he took the ball across midfield to the Wolverine’s 34yard line to move the chains for the Bulldogs.
Joel Garcia connected with Jose Flores on back-to- back passes to set up first and goal from the 10yard line, and on the next play. Kevin Garcia took the pitch from Joel Garcia to his right, but flipped it back to Rodriguez on the reverse, who carried it around the left side for the score. His kick was good, stretching the lead to, 32-6, with 6:13 left to play in the half.
The kick by Jose Fiero rolled out of bounds, giving Springlake-Earth the ball at their own 31-yard line, but a few plays later, they were picked off by Joel Garcia, who shook off a would-be tackler, before returning it all the way for the pick-six with 5:03 to play in the half. The kick from Rodriguez was no good, leaving the score, 38-6.
The kick-off from Amherst did not go 15-yard, as Springlake-Earth took over at their own 34yard line. The Wolverines’ drive was derailed before it could get going, as they had the ball stripped out by Kevin Garcia and it was recovered by Flores at the Bulldog’s 33-yard line with 4:56 to play in the half.
The Bulldog’s pass on first down fell incomplete looking for Fiero, but back-to-back runs from Kevin Garcia set them up with a first down at the Wolverine’s 26-yard line. Rodriguez got the carry on first down, starting out to his left, before making a man miss on the sideline, cutting it back across the field for the 26-yard touchdown run. The kick was good, making the score, 46-6, with just over four minutes to play in the half.
Springlake-Earth’s offensive struggles continued, as they would again turn the ball over on downs with 2:11 to play in the second quarter.
A bad exchange in the backfield on first down for Amherst was covered by Joel Garcia, making it second and long, but he connected with Rodriguez on a pass to the right, as he got back to the original line of scrimmage to make it third and 15. Kevin Garcia carried the ball to his left, picking up a first down, taking the ball to the 17-yard line, and on the next play, Joel Garcia hit Rodriguez on a slant in the endzone for the 17-yard touchdown pass. The kick by Rodriguez was blocked, making the score, 52-6.
The kick-off was covered by Kevin Garcia and the Bulldogs took a pair of knees to kill the clock, as Amherst 45’ed Springlake-Earth’s JV, 52-6.
The Bulldogs will be at Dawson next Thursday to take on the Dragons.
Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.