Bulldogs clinch first district championship since 2009!!

For the first time since 2009, the Bandera football team has clinched a district championship.

The Bulldogs, who defeated YMLA 35-7 Thursday night to move to 8-1 on the season and 3-0 in District 14-4A Division II, still have one game remaining in the regular season with Carrizo Springs coming to town Friday night. But wins over Devine, Pearsall and YMLA locked Bandera into the top spot – a feat the program has been working toward for more than a decade.

 

“For these seniors, it has been five years of hard work and dedication, both in-season and off-season to get to this point,” athletic director and head football coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “Championships are won during the off-season and our guys had a great off-season, this year in particular. We haven’t cut any corners as a program – we built it the right way.

 

“We aren’t done yet, and that’s what we will be preaching this week. It’s been a great year but there are more things to come. I hope our community can appreciate this team and will come out to see these seniors play what will likely be their last home game this Friday against Carrizo.”

The championship clinching victory over the Lions Thursday featured another dominant second half from the Bulldogs, who overcame a slow start to outscore YMLA 29-0 after the halftime break.

Bandera jumped out to a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter after a 21-yard touchdown pass from senior Jesse Cardenas to senior Corben Gonzales. The Bulldogs’ defense held YMLA in check from start to finish, but the Lions got on the board and took the lead just before halftime after recovering a Bandera fumble and returning it 55 yards for a touchdown.

 

The Bulldogs trailed 7-6 at the end of the first half before pulling away and putting the game out of reach quickly in the third quarter. Bandera has now outscored their last four opponents by a combined second-half score of 92-29.

 

“Our defense played lights out on Friday from start to finish,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “We had several opportunities to score in the first half, but our offense came up short. Our staff makes excellent halftime adjustments and we did that once again on Friday night to run away with it in the second half.”

The comeback effort started with a 44-yard rush from Cardenas on the first play of the third quarter. Cardenas got into the end zone three plays later on a 6-yard touchdown run, and Cardenas then found Gonzales for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-7 with 10:13 to go in the third quarter.

 

Gonzales then hauled in an interception on the ensuing YMLA possession, and a 44-yard pass from Cardenas to Gonzales set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Gonzales to make it 21-7 Bandera at the 7:11 mark of the third.

Cardenas scored again on a 7-yard run at the 7:42 mark of the fourth, and Gonzales’ second interception of the night set up a 1-yard touchdown rush from sophomore running back Juan Cabrera for the final score of the night.

The Bandera offense totaled 422 yards in the win, the fifth time this season the Bulldogs have exceeded the 400-yard mark offensively. Cardenas completed 5-of-8 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown and added 18 carries for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Cabrera had 27 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown. Gonzales had two carries for 18 yards and a touchdown and four catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Jeffry Thomas added one catch for six yards.

 

“Philosophically, I believe to win football games, you have to run the football and stop the run,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “It’s a bit of an old school mentality, with the tendency of high-powered offenses to air it out. We’ve hit that 400-yard marker this season when we’ve been able to run and pass the ball well. What has been different for us this year is that we have the ability to do both at a high level. Each week we have guys step up and make plays – it’s a special season.”

 

Defensively, Bandera limited YMLA to 105 total yards – the lowest output of any opponent this season. Senior Jorge Cabasos had nine tackles, senior Dylan Gherman had eight tackles, seniors Daniel Freeman, Carson Powers and Eric Straeter had seven tackles apiece, and sophomore Dane Barnett had six tackles.

Gonzales forced both turnovers for the Bulldogs, contributing a total of two interceptions, 109 total yards and two touchdowns.

 

“We have some playmakers on defense who stepped up big time once again on Friday night,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our box players dominated the line of scrimmage. We suffocated the run game and got after the passer when they threw the ball. Our secondary has really come together the last couple of weeks and they were a big difference in shutting them down to only 105 yards of offense – truly a dominant performance.”

It was a big night overall for Cardenas, who eclipsed the 3,000-yard rushing mark for his career with the Bulldogs. Cardenas has racked up a total of 514 carries for 3,111 yards and 27 rushing TDs, 1,069 passing yards and 19 passing TDs, and 13 catches for 215 yards and three receiving TDs in his career.

 

Cardenas also has over 221 tackles, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions, a kickoff return for a touchdown, a punt return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown.

“That is a testament to Jesse’s talent, hard work and toughness,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “And shout out to all of his teammates who have helped him along the way.”

 

The Bulldogs will now shift their focus to senior night against Carrizo Springs Friday night with kickoff set for 7:00 pm. The Wildcats (2-7, 0-3) have been eliminated from playoff contention regardless of the outcome of Friday night’s game, while the Bulldogs have clinched the No. 1 seed.

 

Bandera will matchup in the first round of the playoffs against the No. 4 seed from District 13-4A Division II. Lago Vista (5-4, 2-2) and Jarrell (3-6, 2-2) will play Friday night, with the Bulldogs set to take on the loser of that matchup in the bi-district round.

 

“Our mindset is like any other week – Beat Carrizo,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “We have some unfinished business from the last time they came here in 2021. Our mindset is to treat each day as an opportunity to improve. Win each day by focusing on each play, each day and each game. We want to finish off the season undefeated in district play and in Bulldog Stadium! I can’t wait to see it packed for Senior Night this Friday night. Get your money signs and 4’s ready, it will be a great night to be a Bulldog!”

 

Playoff shirts are now available at the following link: https://gogandy.com/banderahs-fbdistch23

 

Photos attached are courtesy of Andrew Coloney.