Four fumbles in the first quarter of play were reason enough to have fans of both teams anxious, but the Ganado Indians weren’t fazed by the turnovers and continued to show why they’re the team to beat in Region IV as they defeated Marlin 41-14.
Head Coach Josh Ervin’s message to the team was clear, “Just keep playing and battle through the adversity. Move on to the next play and respond.”
The Ganado Indians and the Marlin Bulldogs met at San Marcos’ Rattler Stadium with a state semifinal berth on the line, in what promised to be another tough test for both teams: The Indians were coming off a win in a defensive showdown, while the Bulldogs were coming off an exciting last-second win in an offensive fireworks show.
Marlin’s defense proved to be a tough unit and their defensive front was up to the challenge. Bryce Ullman moved the Indians into Bulldog territory, they would stuff the next three plays and force a turnover on downs after foiling Ganado’s short fourth down attempt. However, on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage, the Indian defense would force and recover a fumble, giving the offense the ball with good field position. After moving just outside the Marlin 10, Ullman would find his receiver, but he was slung down and the ball was jarred loose, which the Bulldogs recovered and returned up to midfield. The Bulldog offense quickly drove down to the field and was only a couple of yards away from finding the endzone when Ullman would pop the ball out of the running back’s hand just short of the goal line, and Luke Green was there to recover it. The Indian defense forced their second turnover of the quarter and looked to break the deadlock.
Following the turnover, the Indian offense moved the ball efficiently, but the Bulldogs would not be one-upped and forced another fumble in Ganado territory. Both teams had two fumbles each, and it was only a matter of time until one of them found the game’s first points.
The Ganado defense continued to swarm the Bulldog offense, however, and forced them into a fourth down inside the redzone. The quarterback dropped back to pass but Callen Hajovsky and John Utley combined to take him down and prevent the Bulldog offense from capitalizing on the turnover.
The Indian offense was held to the first scoreless first quarter since week three, but they would look to put up points in the second. However, the points would have to wait as again the Marlin defense forced another turnover on downs and prevented any points for the Ganado offense. Both defenses were locked in and the slugfest would continue on the next drive as the Indian defense would quickly force a punt out of the Bulldogs’ special teams and get the ball back.
Following the punt, Ganado would find the breakthrough. After a big run by Logan Bures into Marlin territory, Bryce Ullman would find Austen Pena near the sideline, who then broke several tackles for the 27 yard touchdown. The Indians held a 7-0 lead through the middle of the second quarter, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away. Big plays moved them from their 27 up to the Ganado 49, but then, the quarterback’s pass was intercepted by Ullman.
Following the interception, Bures moved the Indians down the field with a chunk of yards after the catch, and Logan Bures capped it off with a 13 yard touchdown run through the middle of the defense. Marlin responded with a big play of their own, the receiver broke several tackles and ran down the sideline just before being brought down at the Indian 6, but an illegal forward pass penalty would move the Bulldog offense back a couple of yards. The penalty didn’t affect them and they would find the endzone on the next play off the back of the quarterback who kept it and took off untouched.
Both teams exchanged punts to end the half, but it was Marlin who would be on the unfortunate end of a blocked punt by Bryce Ullman, and he was there to recover it in the endzone to make it a 21-7 game just before the end of the half.
The third quarter began similarly to the first, both teams traded turnovers after failed fourth down attempts, but it was the Indians who broke the trend and strung together the first positive offensive drive of the half. After Cain Hayden batted the fourth down pass, Ganado took over near midfield and drove down the field, mixing in runs and passes. Ganado was in the redzone and had it near the goal line, then, Luke Bures punched it in on a short outside run, extending the Indian lead to three scores. The score was 28-7 near the end of the third quarter, but Marlin found rhythm on their next offensive drive. Several chunk plays moved them into Indian territory, where they then found themselves knocking on the door.
Although it was the fourth quarter, Marlin wasn’t out of it yet after another short touchdown run would cut into the Indian lead. However, Logan Bures quickly silenced the crowd after taking the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to the house, making it a 34-14 contest.
Marlin was down three scores and had to string together consecutive scoring drives against an Indian defense that had been stuffing nearly every play they ran. Unfortunately, the Indian defense continued their dominance and forced another punt out of the Bulldogs. Luck would find the Bulldogs though, as another fumble would fall into their hands with a couple of minutes of clock left, but like clockwork, they were forced to punt back to Ganado.
On their next drive, the Indian offense would put the final nail in the coffin after Vince Sablatura dived into the endzone for a 2 yard score, making it 41-14 in favor of Ganado.
After a couple of plays from either team, the final whistle would blow and the Indians claimed their second consecutive regional title.
After the game, Luke and Logan Bures talked about the turnovers on offense, “We came out slow, but we kept battling and continued to respond to the adversity,” and Logan added, “We definitely have to clean it up, especially with the teams were going to play moving forward.” Erick Guerrero spoke about the size of the Marlin offensive and defensive lines, “We came together and had the same mindset, everyone knew their assignments and how to execute”. All three shared the message that Coach Ervin gave them, “It’s a dogfight, we know what we have to do to win, and don’t get into your heads”.
Ganado punched their ticket to the semifinals, where they will face Joaquin (10-4). The game will be played Thursday, December 12, at 7 p.m. in Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah.
Indian quarterback senior Bryce Ullman hands off to running back Logan Bures during Ganado’s 41-14 Region IV victory over Marlin.
