By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
CORPUS CHRISTI — The Lyford Bulldogs saw several key players go down with injuries as they battled the Palacios Sharks in a Class 3A Division I bi-district game Saturday at Buccaneer Stadium.
But it didn’t matter that they were down their No. 1 quarterback as well as a receiver, fullback and tight end. Lyford was playing for something bigger than a win, and a little adversity wasn’t going to knock them out.
The Bulldogs outlasted the Sharks in a back-and-forth second half to clinch a bi-district title with a 34-31 win, setting up an area-round date with Llano.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my kids. I love them, and all glory goes to God. I’m on Cloud 9 right now,” Lyford coach Israel Gonzalez said. “Javier Sepeda on our seventh-grade football team was diagnosed with leukemia. We put a sticker on our helmet this week and said we were going to play for 63, so Javier, (the) Bulldogs played their heart out for you, man. We love you and we’re praying for you and a speedy recovery.”
Lyford’s starting quarterback, senior Cayleb Klostermann, left the game with an injury after a carry on the first play. Top receiver and senior Matt Sanchez exited shortly after, following a catch that put the Bulldogs on the 7-yard-line to set up an opening-drive score. Sophomore Osmar Martinez took over at quarterback and put the Bulldogs on top 12-0 on 9- and 53-yard touchdown runs during the first quarter.
“It was flashbacks to last year, first play of the game, our stud quarterback going down,” Gonzalez said. “We learned a lot from that last year. (Martinez) hasn’t played quarterback much all year, but we knew he was capable and ready to come in. He’s a tough kid, mentally strong, and he’s only a sophomore so there’s great things coming for Osmar.”
Lyford’s defense contained the Sharks’ offense early. A swarm of Bulldogs converged on Palacios running back Gary Haynes to force a fumble recovered by Devon Mendoza, and they pressured quarterback Anthony White to stall drives. Gavin Martinez, Elijah Vela and Louis DeVries led the Bulldogs’ defensive front.
The Sharks picked up the tempo during the second quarter, and their fast-paced offense kept the Bulldogs on their heels. White connected with receiver Micah Sanchez for a big gain to set up a 31-yard field goal made by kicker Jacob Hernandez.
Palacios’ defense stopped Lyford’s run-heavy offense in the second quarter behind solid play from Fidel Chavez, Tanner Lev and the secondary. Brian Le intercepted a pass to start a Sharks drive on Lyford’s 25-yard-line, and Haynes scored on a 9-yard run to make it 12-10 after a Hernandez PAT. The Sharks took their first lead in the second half as White found Daniel Gonzales for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
The Bulldogs struggled to run the ball in the third, so they opened up the field. Martinez found Mendoza for a big gain then hit Diego Guerra for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Power back Gavino Morales ran for the successful 2-point conversion.
Guerra lined up at receiver, in the secondary and at punter for the Bulldogs. He pinned the Sharks deep in their own territory, several times, and his leg helped Lyford extend its lead to 22-17 in the fourth quarter. Guerra’s punt was downed on the 1-yard-line, and DeVries busted through the line on Palacios’ first play of the drive to record a safety.
Morales tacked on another score on a 22-yard touchdown run to make it 28-17 with 8:26 remaining.
“(Guerra) was able to flip the field for us,” Gonzalez said. “We knew we had to stop (Haynes), so we knew we had to win the field position game and Diego was a key part of that. Some of those punts were pivotal for us, and the defense stepped up huge for us.”
But Haynes and the Sharks proved tricky to stop. White delivered a strike to Sanchez with pressure in his face for a 64-yard touchdown, and a Gonzales rush converted the 2-point attempt to make it a three-point game.
The White-to-Gonzales connection and Haynes’ speed moved Palacios down field after the Sharks’ defense forced hurried passes that fell incomplete and got Lyford’s offense off the field quickly. White found Chance McRae in the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put the Sharks on top 31-28 with 2:57 remaining after a failed 2-point attempt.
After misfiring on three straight pass attempts on the ensuing drive, Martinez showed composure to hit Mendoza for a 14-yard gain on fourth down and a 19-yard gain on third down. He rushed twice to enter the red zone, then tossed to the end zone. Guerra reeled in the pass inches off the ground for a 17-yard touchdown.
“It was just catch it or go home. I made the play for the team, and we aren’t done yet. It was a great feeling,” Guerra said. “That was a great team win. We came out here wanting it, and we were going to do whatever we needed to get the win.”
Trailing by three with 1:21 to play, Palacios tried passing deep downfield, but Lyford’s Mark Marroquin notched an interception to clinch the win for the Bulldogs.
“It was next man up, and I was just ready for whatever my coach needed me to do,” Martinez said. “At practice I’m always the No. 2 quarterback doing drills, so I knew I was ready. It’s exciting. I’m ready for next week. Hopefully our injured players can come back and we go win again.”