The Bulldog Football Team had their annual Red vs. Gold football game this past Saturday the 5th. I had not planned to attend, but after receiving an emphatic text from a good friend of mine about the electric atmosphere from the crowd, I gave it a shot. I am sure glad I checked it out.
As a reminder, the bulldogs finished 4-7 last year. They started the season strong at 3-1, but finished just 1-6, with a courageous yet heartbreaking home playoff loss to South Sevier. This is a big step forward for the team, however, given that the bulldogs finished just 1-9 in each of the three previous seasons. Winning 4 games showed the potential the Bulldogs and coaching staff had for the coming year.
I saw evidence of this potential at QB on Saturday. For the first time since Jack Boomer in 2017 and 2018, the bulldogs’ starting quarterback will be returning to the job. Senior Calvin McAward is coming back strong to lead the bulldogs, having the best season for a Bulldog QB (11 TD, 8 INT, 1090 YDS) since Ayden Auer in 2014 (16 TD, 6 INT) and most passing yards since James Delacenserie in 2010 (1312 YDS). The Bulldogs’ QB easily takes the ‘Award’ for greatest bulldog QB of the last decade. The signal caller looked sharp and had several well placed throws to receivers on the edges during the game on Saturday. This season, with continuity and familiarity with the offense, McAward should be on track for at least the previous years’ numbers.
In addition, the Bulldogs have a multitude of offensive position players returning. Last year, Senior WR Henry Thompson finished as the #1 wideout on the team, finishing first on the team in both receptions and yards (26 RCPT, 429 YDS, 2 TD). It is important to note that he is the only Bulldog receiver to top 400 YDS in the last 5 years. He unfortunately ended the season with a torn MCL, but is back and looked explosive during the Red and Gold game. Look for him to top 30 receptions, 500 yards, and 8 touchdowns this season. Opposite to him is senior Ricky Bird, who has big shoes to fill as he looks to fill the #2 WR spot of graduated Nyoun Choul. The Bulldogs also are excited about some younger talent such as junior. King Long and ‘Speed Demon’ sophomore. Demarion Hope who will be replacing graduated seniors during the upcoming 2024 campaign as well.
In the rushing game, the Bulldogs are losing leading back Isaiah Hemmings, who led the team with an outstanding 606 yards on 113 carries for 8 touchdowns. In his place, seniors Thomas Gutierezz and Tyrese Boyce will take over the ground game. Last year, Gutierezz had a respectable 275 yards on 29 carries for 1 touchdown, as well as 5 receptions for 85 yards. Boyce had similar numbers, posting 71 yards on 19 carries for 2 touchdowns along with 3 receptions for 39 yards and 1 touchdown through 3 games, but ultimately had his season cut short due to injury. The Bulldogs would love to see a combined effort of over 300 yards on 50 carries for 4 TDs, as well as anywhere between 10-20 receptions as a bootleg option for McAward. Kaden Merrills and Texas Wilde will also be receiving handoffs out of the backfield. I would expect the run game might not be as prominent as the pass this year, especially with the elite duo of McAward-Thompson on the field, but they have the depth and talent to help gain tough yards near the end zone when the situation presents itself. I saw this exact scenario in action during the scrimmage: on one play, Gutierezz was able to push through 3 defenders, and what looked like a 5 yard loss turned into a 3 yard gain.
The Offensive Line looked strong as well. The quarterback protection this year is returning 6 upperclassmen, all likely to start: Seniors Oliver Laughlin, Kyle Fredericks, and Ansel Flores, and Juniors Jake Marland, Max Ledyard, Tyree Pearson, and Malakhy Pearson. An issue that plagued the line last season was the amount of sacks given up. During a loss to Providence Hall at home last season, the Bulldog offense made it down to the goal line 4 separate times. However, each time they came up short due to a sack, and were unable to score. On Saturday, this problem seemed to be taken care of relatively well. Though there were a few plays resulting in McAward scrambling around the backfield, the line held together and had few sacks taken against it the entire day.
On the defensive side of the ball, the bulldogs packed a punch. Like most other positions this year, the defense is returning plenty of skilled players. Seniors Henry Thompson (39 TCKL, 1 INT), Ricky Bird (38 TCKL, 1 SK, 1 INT, 1 TD), and Junior Marcus Herrera (29 TCKL, 3 INT) are each returning as defensive backs. Senior Tyrese Boyce (20 TCKL) and Junior Jake Marland (21 TCKL, 1 INT) will start at linebacker. Most poignant, however, will be the return of Junior Tyree Pearson (47 TCKL, 6 SK), who led the team in sacks last year. If Pearson can repeat and be anywhere near as good as last year, he will terrorize opposing QB’s.
Judge Memorial will repeat last year’s opener and will have their work cut out from them when they kick off this year’s campaign with a non-conference away game against Enterprise (11-1). Last year, the Wolves went undefeated in the regular season behind monster seasons from RB’s Kyron Bracken (1173 YDS, 20 TD) and Jaden Drake (659 YDS, 6 TDS). Both Bracken and Drake will be returning, meaning the Bulldogs will need a strong showing on the defensive line. The good news is that last year, Enterprise’s pass attack was rather quiet, with just 9 TD being thrown between three different starting QBs. The defense has been largely turned over as well, with only one major contributor in DT Easton Watkins (34 TCKL) returning to the field. The key to winning this game will be a strong offensive and defensive line. If the Bulldogs can shut down the opposing rushing attack while simultaneously keeping their QB under 3 sacks, then I predict the McAward-led squad can score at least 3 TDs and upend the Wolves for a strong start to the season.
