“Find a way” is Ganado Head Coach Josh Ervin’s message to his guys in their quest to defend their state championship.
Kole Bures added, “We have to play with our hearts and not let up till the final whistle” The Ganado Indians kicked off their postseason with a 55-0 victory over the Three Rivers Bulldogs in the bi-district round, advancing to the area round where they’ll meet up with the Thorndale Bulldogs.
Three Rivers kicked the game off with the first possession on offense, but the Indian defense forced a quick punt and set the offense up near midfield.
Four first downs later, the Indian offense was just outside the goal line and lined up for the tush push, which would succeed and give Ganado the 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Special teams would be a factor early as the Indians tried and successfully recovered an onside kick in Bulldog territory. The Indians made quick work of the Bulldog defense again, capping off their touchdown drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown from Austen Pena.
Three Rivers strung together positive plays on the following drive, picking up three first downs and moving from their 42-yard line, down to the redzone. However, Ganado’s defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs after stopping the fourth down attempt. The Indians were set up with their deepest field position of the game so far, but it wasn’t a problem as both Landyn Arriaga and Sean Willis found big yardage with their legs.
The drive was capped off again with a threeyard rushing touchdown from Pena, and gave the Indians the 20-0 lead.
Ganado’s defense continued to stifle the Bulldogs’ attack, as John Utley dropped back and intercepted a pass to set the offense up deep in Three Rivers territory.
Following the pick, Pena made quick work of the drive, finding the endzone for his third rushing touchdown of the night and giving Ganado the 27-0 lead.
Three Rivers continued to find some success on offense, picking up a couple of first downs and moving into the redzone again. But again, Ganado’s defense forced another turnover on downs.
The Indian offense continued to move the ball at will, with Utley breaking off a big run to move Ganado to the Three Rivers side of the field. Pena then broke off for 21 yards to tack on his fourth score of the night and add to the Ganado lead before halftime.
Out of halftime, the Indians would pick up right where they left off with Pena breaking off a 69-yard touchdown run to move him up to five touchdowns on the night and extending the Indian lead to 41 points.
Three Rivers again moved the ball well on offense, moving into Ganado territory after a couple of first downs, but for the third time in the game, Ganado’s defense stood tall and forced another turnover on downs.
Following the turnover, Ganado’s offense continued to pour it on, with Austen scoring his sixth touchdown of the night on a 36-yard run.
The Bulldog offense couldn’t crack the code that was the Ganado defense, punting it away and giving the Indians another scoring opportunity.
After picking up two first downs and moving into Bulldog territory, Landyn Arriaga escaped from would-be Bulldog defenders and went 37 yards for another Ganado touchdown. At the end of the third quarter, the Indians led 55-0 and looked primed to pitch a shutout.
The younger guys for Ganado were able to get valuable minutes and stifled the Bulldog offense just as the first team had. The teams would trade punts, and ultimately, the clock would wind down in favor of Ganado, giving the Indians a 55-0 victory over Three Rivers and advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they’ll meet with the Thorndale Bulldogs (8-3).
After the game, Pena spoke of the growth of the defense, “It all starts in practice, we’ve been getting more physical and hitting each other more, and it is playoffs so the mindset on that side of the ball is different”.
Ervin added, “The guys are understanding where their eyes have to be, whether it’s in the run or the pass, they know their assignments and they keep improving”.
Ganado and Thorndale will meet on Thursday, November 20 at 7:30 in Bastrop at Memorial Stadium.
