Friday night, the Industrial Cobras made the short trip up Highway 111 to face off against the Yoakum Bulldogs in Yoakum. Though the Cobras took a 45-27 loss against the Bulldogs, head Coach Matthew Luddeke has seen growth from his team; which is all he’s asked for.
The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred, so the Cobras began the game by receiving the ball. It was quickly lost on a fumble, and Yoakum turned around and scored a touchdown. Then, came three first downs for the Cobras— the same number of first downs they got during the entire game against Edna.
“I think there was some drastic improvement from our offense,” Luddeke said. “Not just from the first scrimmages until now, but especially from week one to week two, and that’s what we want to see as a coaching staff.”
Along with growth as an offensive line, a one-yardtouchdown scored by junior Easton Larew marked the team’s first touchdown of the season.
“It felt amazing knowing the coaches believed in me to convert in short yardage situations,” Larew said. “And my quarterback trusting in me, throwing me the ball so I could score.”
Overall, the Cobras had a strong showing on offense.
Francis went six for 14 with 183 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67 yard touchdown pass to Larew.
Ryan Riddle and Ga’ziah Lopez also made great contributions, moving the Cobras down the field several times.
Both Jayden Dornak and Mason Hunt were responsible for many of the stops on defense.
Pilat, Barnett, and Morales were lead contributors for the Bulldogs offense, bringing home multiple touchdowns.
The Bulldogs had strong momentum throughout the majority of the third quarter, but that changed when Hunt intercepted a ball meant for Barnett.
Even though they didn’t win, the boys didn’t feel defeated after the game because they know they’re slowly progressing.
“We know our pre-district is a tough pre-district,” Luddeke said. “At the same time, the other message I’ve told our kids is that we’re trying to prepare to be the best team in November and December, not necessarily at this moment.”
The offense isn’t the only thing improving. According to kicker and outside linebacker Mason Hunt, the Cobra defense is working to make sure they can stop the Goliad Tigers during the next game.
“Coming into the next game, we need to prevent the big plays,” Hunt said. “If we can do our jobs to prevent the big plays, then we are a solid defensive team.”
Luddeke is on the same page as Hunt. He agrees if the defense comes together and does their job—not somebody else’s—then their game will improve greatly.
“The message is, do your 1:11 as a player,” Luddeke said. “If you do that, then everything will come together like it’s supposed to. We are just continuing to try to execute better. I think those things are going to help us take some steps forward this week to go after Goliad.”
The Cobras (0-2) return to action at the Snake Pit against the Goliad Tigers (1-1) on Friday at 7:30.
