Bulldogs fall in bi-district despite airing it out

The Wortham Bulldogs gave their traveling fans plenty to cheer about during their final game of the season – a 30-16 bi-district loss to Simms-Bowie Friday night at Lone Oak.

It sure didn’t start out that way, as Bowie took a 24-0 lead in the first quarter.

However, the Wortham defense stiffened up, making a few plays when it absolutely had to. One such play was John Ross Black’s interception at the Bulldog 14.

Wortham didn’t keep the ball long, but it was long enough to not give the Pirates enough time to increase its lead before halftime.

Wortham went three-and-out to start the second half, but also held Bowie to a three-and-out.

That’s when the game’s dynamic changed.

Wortham mounted a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that included Black completing 3-of-4 passes to Yancey Bean for 63 yards. Bean broke several tackles on one short pass and Black hit him in stride for a 41-yard completion.

Bean scored Wortham’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third quarter. Black connected with Jesse Saldana for the two-point conversion to make it 24-8.

The Pirates, though, mounted an 11-play touchdown drive that took them well into the fourth quarter. Dylan Braley ran nine times for 25 yards. Lane Johnson ran three times for 35 yards, including a four-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.

Down 30-8, Wortham came out firing again. Although the drive stalled, Black hit Lance Jones for 12 yards and Cash Perez for 43.

The Bulldog defense forced Bowie to punt, and Black got his arm going again. He connected with Bean for a 4-yard gain. Then, on second-and-6 from the 43 yard line, Bean threw to Bean, who caught the ball as it deflected off a defender. Bean then fumbled into the end zone where Jones recovered for the touchdown.

Perez ran in for the two-point conversion and Wortham had cut the game to 30-16 with 3:40 to play.

Wortham had just one timeout to kill the clock, and Bowie managed two first downs on five Braley runs to secure the win.

Black completed 8-of-15 passes for 172 yards. Bean hauled in 6 passes for 116 yards and rushed 10 times for 28 yards. Perez caught 2 for 44 yards, and Jones caught 1 for 12.