The Ganado Indians met the Joaquin Rams in the State Semifinals at Woodforest Bank Stadium, the same place where the 2023 Indian’s season came to an end. However, the Indians found better fortune this time and came away with a 35-14 victory over the Rams, marking the first Semifinal victory in program history. Joaquin was a run-first offense, but the Indian defense had been stout against both the run and pass throughout the playoffs, so the Rams would have to be perfect in their execution. Joaquin took the field on offense to kick off the contest but was met with a stonewall early, as they were forced to punt before reaching midfield.
Following the punt, Ganado’s offense was caught off-guard by the Rams’ defense and had to kick a punt of their own. The Joaquin offense took the field near midfield but the drive would quickly go awry: After one play, Cain Hayden would strip the ball-carrier and take it back 57 yards to the endzone to give the Indians the first points of the game. After the defensive touchdown, the Rams would continue to come up empty-handed on offense, netting only one first down through their first three possessions.
Another punt from the Rams gave the Indians the opportunity to extend their lead to two scores, which is exactly what they did. Several chunk plays and a huge connection from Bryce Ullman to Austen Pena put the Indians just inside the 10 of Joaquin. Then, Bryce Ullman capped off the drive with a nine yard touchdown run and made it a 14-0 game just before the end of the first quarter.
