Go Friday Night

Homecoming week proved to be a distraction for the Bulldogs this week as Ranger narrowly escaped upset minded Cross Plains here Friday night.

The Bulldogs played a solid first half of football putting up 22 points and holding Cross Plains to 6 at the half.

However the Buffalos found new life in the second half and with a minute to go (trailing 30-24), in the game were in a position to tie the game. Once again the very talented Bulldog defense rose to the challenge and held. I think everyone on the Ranger side took a collective sigh of relief.

Cross Plains played a pass oriented game most of the night and this was something new for the Bulldogs to see. It also showed Ranger that the secondary has it’s weaknesses. Watching the game I got the impression the boys enjoyed playing this type of game. It differently keep them on their toes especially late in the game.

Michael Espinoza, (named Honorable Mention Big Country Player of the week), scored several times for the Bulldogs and Ryan Draper capped off three drives by running in the two point conversions. I was especially impressed with the game play of Cory Smith on Friday night. He was in on at least 15 tackles and numerous assists. I called his number many times during the game.

Penalities and key turnovers by the Bulldogs keep the Wildcats in the game. The Wildcats had momentum and were driving deep inside the Ranger 20. However the defense played tough and held on.

It was without question the best game "defensively" the Bulldogs have played to date. Dennie Crossan, Casey Hudson, Greg Martinez, Jake Wells and Michael Esponiza all helped Ranger to the win. Cory Smith and Gene Bradley also played well in the secondary.

Michael Espinoza had a break out game rushing for 211 yards and scoring 5 times enroute to helping his team to 53-0 win. Mike’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed either. The Abilene Reporter News named him “Player of the Week.” Not to be out shined Juan Merlan rushed for 41 yards and 1 TD. Cecil Fuentes rushed for 47 yards and 1 TD.

Freshman QB Ryan Draper continues to get better. Ryan exhibited a lot of poise in Friday’s game. He took his time and read the Miles defense well before throwing or running. Ryan on the night had 64 yards and 1 TD run for 24 yards.

The Ranger offensive line did very well opening holes in the Miles defense and allowing big runs. This was a game the Bulldogs needed to prove to themselves they can win and build some confidence in themselves two weeks out from the start of district.

Now how about that Bulldog defense!! The guys on that side of the ball held Miles to an amazing 10 total yards and only 2 first downs all night! In three games the Ranger “D” has given up only 342 total yards. Greg Martinez recorded at least 10 tackles, including solo or assists, in Friday’s win. Dennie Crossan and Jack Wells also had big games stopping Miles on many drives and spending a lot of time in the Miles backfield.

Ranger is still having trouble with the fumble bug. In 3 games the Dogs’ have turned it over 12 times. NFL players like the Cowboy’s Emmitt Smith and Redskin’s great John Riggins have all commented that “it’s easy to let something like that get in your head.” Riggins comment in his book “put it behind you and get ready for the next play. I just got mad, real mad.”

Friday night was a total team effort and Ranger should have a little swagger this week as they prepare for undefeated Archer City. It will be Homecoming for the Wildcats and they would like nothing better than to send Ranger home with a big loss. Kickoff will be at 7:30 PM. School will release at 12:30 PM so students and fans can get to the game on time.

Senior Jake Wells had a solid night on offense and defense while rushing for 148 yards on 28 carries. Juan Merlan gained 28 yards on 4 carries. Wells scored the lone TD for Ranger on a 16 yard run. Earlier in the game Wells had a beautiful 60 plus yard run for pay dirt but at about the 2 yard line a Hawley defender managed to strip the ball and recover it spoiling a Ranger score. It was that kind of night!

Freshman QB Ryan Draper went 0 for 5 with two INTs. One turnover occurred during an impressive Bulldog drive deep in Hawley territory. Ryan deserves credit for keeping his composure through most of the game. Despite one sack for a 20 plus yard loss and a botched exchange with the Center leading to another Ranger turnover, the freshman bounced right back and continued to fight. In my humble opinion it takes a lot of guts to get out there in your “first” Friday night under the lights and lead players with tons more experience than you. Still Draper needs to take a few more looks at the defense before attempting a pass and get more comfortable with his receivers. That will come with more time and more snaps. Maybe Ryan needs to take his receivers to Dairy Queen, have a steak finger basket and talk over pass patterns. After all it seemed to work for Terry Bradshaw when he played for the Steelers. Don’t think he took his guys to DQ though!

The defense was all about “TCB” Friday night. My hats off to the guys on that side of the ball. The Bulldog “D” held Hawley to 136 total yards including just 2 scores (penalties also helped). Making standout plays for Ranger were Casey Hudson, Dennie Crossan, Greg Martinez, Jake Wells, Cory Smith and Cecil Fuentes. Not trying to leave anyone out as I said the “entire” defense was great.

Finally how about the 56 yard TD run by Michael Espinoza! Mike scooped up a Hawley fumble (thanks to a jaw jarring hit by All State defensive lineman Casey Hudson on the Hawley QB) and off he went. It was so exciting I almost jumped out the press box window. I’m just glad I had the PA turned off! Sadly it “was” called back on a questionable chop block penalty. Again it was just that kind of night.

Time to Move on...

Ranger put up 184 offensive yards against Baird and managed one score (that being Jake Wells running 24 yards to paydirt). Ranger fans are hoping Wells finds the endzone many times this coming season. Casey Hudson, Caleb Hatton and Patrick Zarate made several key blocks which allowed Juan Merlan and Michael Espinoza to make some good practice runs.

On defense the Bulldogs looked very stingy holding Baird's offense to under a 100 yards of rushing. Dennie Crossen and Greg Martinez each notched one QB sack a piece. Baird found the going tough in the running and passing game most of the morning. The Dogs did give up one score.

Freshman QB Ryan Draper went 3 for 8 and is continuing to work on his confidence and stamina in leading the Bulldog offensive attack. Draper has experienced players in front of him and these guys are going to have to play good to provide him with extra protection and time to let the play unfold.

Ranger will have to step up the effort next Friday when then travel to Class AA Dublin for a 5pm scrimmage. Dublin is ranked in the top 20 in AA football. It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs prepare for this "big" challenge!