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Romeo Bulldogs lose to Ike 26-14 in another tough loss
Last night the Bulldogs lost to the Eisenhower Eagles 26-14. It was one of those nights where nothing bounced our way and everything bounced towards Ike. The Bulldogs literally had 2 touchdowns scored against them where a single bounce, once on a fumble and another a blocked punt, found a defenders hands with a clear shot to the end zone.
I would also say that this loss does not reflect poorly on the defense. Only 3 of the 26 points that were scored against the Bulldogs can be attributed to the defense. They were rock solid at the line and their pass coverage was impeccable. The defensive backfield contained the Eagles passing game and held them to short passes where the receivers were immediately taken down. Additionally, 9 of the 23 points not earned by the defense can be attributed to questionable calls by the officials, from this observer seat.
To start the game Romeo kicked off to Ike and the Eagles mounted their first and only real drive of the game. During the drive Seniors Dalton Binkowski, Joe Bacci, Wesley Holliday, Ellis Weeks, Troy Zibkowski and Sam Brunner did a great job containing them but in the end the Eagles scored a 45 yard field goal. That’s right a 45 yard field goal in high school.
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Photo's taken by: Amiee Distelrath |
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Romeo senior Brian Roth received the ball on the 11 yard line and returned the ball to 26 to start the Bulldog possession. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were 3 plays and out and did a quick kick to the Ike 47 yard line. Their first play went around end but Bacci, Weeks and Binkowski stopped them at 2 yards, there was a short pass and junior Joe Gardner made a great open field tackle to prevent a first down. Ike went for another pass play on 3rd and 6 over the right side of the line and junior Kory Kammer got a hand on it, deflecting the ball up and Kory caught his own deflection for the first turn over of the game. Romeo ball on the Eagles 48 yard line.
Romeo’s Evan Richardson was in at quarterback and drove the Bulldogs all the way to the Eagles 10 yard line with some great running by senior Zack Williams and pass receptions by Brian Roth and Sam Brunner. Unfortunately, Romeo turned it over on downs on the Eagles 10 yard line.
The Eagles didn’t have the ball long though, they made the mistake of going long and while they caught the ball, Joe Gardner had a great hit causing a fumble and recovering it on the Ike 47 yard line. Three plays later Romeo had to punt. Ike tried once again to go to the air on the first down but Troy Zibkowski intercepted the ball and ran it back to the Ike 29 yard line. Let’s give some credit for that interception to Dalton Binkowski who chased the Ike quarterback out of the pocket and was in hot pursuit causing the quarterback to pass on the run. Romeo had 3 running plays to Williams and Roth and found themselves in a 4th and 3 at the Eagles 21 yard line. Romeo went for it and with a pass over the middle to Brunner they found the end zone, made the extra point and were ahead 7-3 with 5:28 left in the half.
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Ike drove the ball to the Romeo 27 yard line in about 7 plays but again Binkowski didn’t make it easy on them, he was in the backfield more than some of their running backs. Eagles attempted a 44 yard field goal and were short. Romeo took over at their own 20 with about 2 minutes left and drove the ball to their own 39 in 7 plays and were forced to punt with 12 seconds left on the clock and the Eagles punt receiver returned the ball for an Eagles touchdown leaving only 1 second on the clock. From my seat there was a clip on the play, no flag though and we finished the half Romeo 7—Ike 10.
Romeo started the second half from their own 20 after a touchback and were 3 plays and out with a punt attempt but it was blocked and a single hop put the ball in the hands of an Eagle who ran it into the end zone for another Eagle touchdown. Score Romeo 7—Ike 17.
Joe Gardner received the kickoff and ran it back 19 yards to the Romeo 29. From there Romeo and Ike went back and forth in the middle of the field into the 4th quarter with one notable exception; the Eagles went for the end zone on second and 9 from the Romeo 37 yard line when Junior Bernard Austin shut the receiver down in the end zone with perfect coverage. Austin hit the receiver at the very moment the ball did and broke up the play. Later Romeo found themselves deep in their own territory when on 3rd and 7 from their own 12 they were called for a safety on an incomplete pass but there was an intentional grounding flag causing the safety. Again, this was a questionable flag because Richardson was out of the pocket and there was a receiver within striking distance of where the ball was throw, Rome 7—Ike 19.
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Eisenhower took over after the free kick at their own 44 but were 3 and out with a punt into the end zone. Romeo ball at their own 20, 2 plays later Romeo fumbled and a single bounce went right into an Eagles hands with an open lane to the end zone, Romeo 7—Ike 26.
After the kickoff Romeo started at their own 15 yard line and on the first play of this drive senior Brian Roth took the ball around the end, broke several tackles and found himself in the clear with one man to beat. It was a foot race and Roth outran the defensive back into the end zone, Romeo 14—Ike 26. Great run Brian
Romeo tried an onside kick and the ball had a great hop giving them a real chance at recovering the ball but unfortunately the ball went out of bounds and the Eagles started from their own 47 with 3:57 left on the clock. Romeo used all their timeouts, the defense held them and with 1:16 left on the clock got the ball back on their own 35 yard line. Then a 2nd and 10 play gave hope to the Romeo fans, Richardson threw the ball to Roth in the flats, laterally, and Roth threw the ball long to Brian Sorensen for another first down at the Eagles 12 yard line. Great catch by Sorensen on the sidelines. Unfortunately, 4 plays later on a 4th and 19 Romeo was intercepted on a pass into a crowd in the end zone which ended the game at Romeo 14—Ike 26.
Final thoughts, Tiger Woods once said; “I’d rather be lucky than good sometimes”. That is exactly what the Eagles were in this game. The defense was rock solid, #65 Dalton Binkowski was definitely a stand out in this game and did a great job at controlling the line along with Joe Bacci in the defensive secondary.
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