Bulldogs Bite Indians in Week 2
Tagged under: District 6, News, Scoreboard, Scores
Brad Strawser | September 1, 2018
Week 2 was filled with a lot more drama and action for the Juniata Indians, but at the end of the night, the result was the same as they fell 20 to 13 at the hands of the Tri-Valley Bulldogs Friday night.
At the start of the first quarter, things looked like they may continue from week 1 as Juniata couldn’t pick up a first down on their opening drive, while the Bulldogs ran the ball down the Indians throat for a touchdown.
However, on the next drive, the Indians’ Jeremiah Parson broke off a 50-yard run to tie the score.
The Bulldogs stuck to the ground game throughout the game and found their way into the end zone a second in the middle of the 2nd quarter, but failed to convert on a two-point conversion and led 12-6 at halftime.
In the 2ndhalf, the Indian defense came out ready as they stuffed the Bulldogs first drive, forcing a punt, and giving the offense good field possession to start the half. Yet, when it seemed like everything went right on defense, the offense couldn’t put together a meaningful drive.
Late in the 3rdquarter however, the Indians were able to put together their best drive of the night, picking up multiple first downs, scoring a touchdown, and going into the 4thwith the lead.
The tension was rising at Tri-Valley High School as a one-point game was taking place throughout the 4thquarter. The Indians defense came up big in the middle of the quarter, but the offense couldn’t take enough time off of the clock and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs with half of the quarter left.
Dalton Leedy would prove to be too strong for the Indians defense this time around, as he rushed his way into the end zone, and converted the team’s 2-point conversion to give the Bulldogs a 7-point lead with 4 minutes to play in the game.
The Indian’s looked to have the energy late in the game stringing together a few good runs, and one deep pass into their opponents’ territory, but ultimately, it wasn’t in the cards for the Indians on this windy Friday night.
On 4thand 10, Parson threw a pass to his receiver Steven Ranck, that would have been good enough for a 1stdown, but a hit from the Bulldogs jarred the ball loose for an incompletion and the end of the Indians’ night.
Parson was the focal point of the Indian offense for the night, breaking off multiple carries for good chunks of yardage and rushing in both touchdowns for the Indians. Late in the 4thquarter, with the game on the line, Parson would also throw a 40-yard pass to junior Steven Ranck, to keep the Indian’s hope alive on the game’s final drive.
When asked at the end of the game on his feelings after losing such a tight game, Indian coach Gary Klingensmith said: “It’s tough. We played some great football in the second half. I thought we played well enough to win tonight, but it just didn’t happen. This game was a learning experience for a lot of the guys on the team, and I think we will come out with a win here soon enough, especially after how we played tonight.”
The Indians were still missing key senior Bryson Clark, who is out with a hamstring injury and may return within the next couple of weeks.
The Indians return home to Mifflintown September 7th, to take on their league opponent the Susquenita Blackhawks, in hopes of earning their first win of the season, and their coach’s 300thcareer coaching victory.
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