By Tim Fleischer
Editor-in-Chief
Hitchcock Bulldogs scored on the last play of the first half and on their first possession of the second half, which gave them enough of a cushion to withstand a 21-point second half effort by the Salado Eagles and win 35-30 in a neutral game played at Merrill Green stadium in Bryan.
The touchdown at the end of thefirst half came with no time left on the clock as Hitchcock lined up at the Salado 23-yard line with four seconds left to play. LLoyd Jones scrambled away from pressure and found Damien McDaniel in the end zone. Grant Thiem converted the point-after to give the Bulldogs a 21-9 halftime lead.
The teams battled through most of the first quarter — in fact through most of the game — before the Bulldogs scored on an 80-yard pass from Jones to McDaniel with 4:16 left.
Salado answered in the second on a 22-yard field goal by Daniel Chtay, which capped a 42-yard drive that took 16 plays. Seth Reavis returned the Hitchcock kick 27 yards to get into Bulldog territory. Salado faced a third-and-2 at the Bulldog 2-yard line, but Kase Maedgen was caught in the backfield on a screen pass, forcing the fourth down. The Eagles settled for Chtay’s field goal.
Salado would take their only lead of the game after the Eagle defense stopped the Bulldogs at their own 26-yard line, taking advantage of a 22-yard punt.
Luke Law and Kase Maedgen moved the ball forward and Law hit Caden Strickland for a 17-yard pass in the scoring drive. Maedgan bulled his way for 2 yards on a fourth-and-1 and scored on the next play on a 5-yard dive with 4:26 left in the half. The Bulldogs blocked Chtay’s point-after kick, leaving Salado with a 9-6 lead.
Hitchcock scored twice over the next 4:26. Chase Bruton returned the ensuing kick off 39 yards to the Salado 40-yard line to give the Bulldogs great field position. Hitchcock took advantage of it by scoring six plays later on a 9-yard pass from Jones to McDaniel. The PAT gave Hitchcock a 14-9 edge with 1:43 left to play.
Drew Bird returned the ensuing kick off 24 yards to give Salado the ball at their own 41-yard line. Bird carried the ball into Bulldog territory but coughed it up as he was tackled, recovered by Zack Pruden with 52 seconds left in the half.
Jones found Cole Fisher for two first down passes, setting up the Bulldogs at the Eagle 23-yard line with four seconds left in the first half. He hit McDaniel over the Salado defender for the TD with no time left on the clock. The PAT kick gave the Bulldogs a 21-9 lead.
The Bulldogs extended that lead on the opening drive of the second half, on a 74-yard pass from Jones to McDaniel. The PAT kick made it 28-9 with 10:14 left in the fourth.
Salado answered on the next series, scoring on a 19-yard run by Law with 7:28 left in the third. Chtay’s kick made it 28-16.
Hitchcock extended its lead with 3:04 left in the fourth on a 74-yard pass from Jones to Bryce Dorsey. The PAT kick made it 35-16.
Salado fought back from the 19-point deficit, scoring two TDs in the fourth. Law hit Morgan Adams for an 11-yard strike with 10:18 left to play. Chtay made it 35-23.
Salado recovered a fumble at the Hitchcock 44-yard line to set up the final scoring drive. Law scored on a 3-yard run with 1:46 left to play. Chtay’s kick was good and Salado trailed 35-30.
The Bulldogs were able to fall on the on-side kick and then ran out the clock as the Eagles were out of time outs.