The Bearcats built a 35-6 lead early in the third quarter, but didn’t cruise to the victory. Coahoma cut the deficit to two scores with 2:09 left in regulation, courtesy of a Donnie Garcia 31-yard touchdown pass to Colter Morgan.

The Bulldogs got the ball back with 57 seconds left, but a fumble recovered by Ballinger after a 20 yard gain on a pass from Garcia to Corey Roberts locked the game up for the Bearcats.

Still, Bulldogs’ Head Coach Jay Kennedy expressed a lot of pride in the team’s effort.

“We never quit. Everyone can tell we were nervous and scared to death early,” Kennedy said. “We were in uncharted territory just like we have been all season. Once we settled down, we played well and fought hard. It’s something we can build on for next season.”

This is the second time Ballinger has defeated Coahoma this season. However, this loss was more respectable than the 37-13 thrashing handed out in the third week of the season. Kennedy noted the Bulldogs’ gave Ballinger a stiffer battle the second time around.

“We were a lot better this time,” Kennedy said. “There wasn’t much fight in us in the second half the first time we played them. We didn’t go down as easy this time.”

Ballinger hit Coahoma for two touchdowns within three minutes in the first quarter, earning an early 14-0 advantage. After quarterback Tucker Travis connected with Michael Pena for a 45-yard touchdown on a third and long, kicker Erin Quiroga hit a pooch kick that Coahoma couldn’t handle, allowing the Bearcats to get the ball right back.

Tucker and Pena connected again, this time from nine yards out, grabbing the two touchdown advantage.

Coahoma cut into the lead early in the second quarter when Garcia found running back P.J. Daylong on a 38-yard touchdown pass on a fourth and 11. Daylong snuck out of the backfield and ran up the left sideline virtually unseen by a Ballinger defender.

The Bearcats retook the momentum, though, scoring 14 more unanswered points before halftime, including Travis’ third touchdown pass. This time he connected with Michael Rodriguez on a wide receiver bubble screen, netting 51 yards and giving Ballinger a 28-6 advantage after two quarters.

Ballinger opened the second half with another pooch kick recovery at the Coahoma 47 and Travis hit Pena for the third time on the first play from scrimmage, upping the lead to 35-6.

Coahoma mounted more points, but it was too little, too late. Garcia found Daylong from 13 yards out to narrow the margin, 35-14, with 6:04 left in the game.

Garcia finished 13 of 34 passing for 165 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also racked up 43 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Daylong touched the ball 17 times — 10 carries, seven receptions — and gained 139 total yards — 48 rushing, 91 receiving. He had two touchdown receptions.

Morgan had the one touchdown reception for 31 yards and Josh Paniagua added 21 yards on three receptions. Paniagua also notched an interception on defense.

The defense was led by Corey Roberts who had three tackles for loss and a sack. Josh Jones and Hunter Williams each had six tackles.

The Bulldogs finish 4-7, but lose only seven seniors — Morgan, Jones, Joe Hernandez, Blain Henderson, Casey Kilpatrick, Seth Cochrane and Justin Rau.

“There aren’t many seniors on this team. The seniors on this team were the ones that stuck it out and had the guts to play year in and year out,” Kennedy said. “I take my hats off to these kids. They’re part of the foundation being set at Coahoma. We’re going to keep working hard and they’ll be able to look back and know they had a hand in it.”

“It was fun to make the playoffs in my first head coaching year,” he continued. “We’re trying to establish a winning attitude at Coahoma. We want to win at every sport, but my expectations for the football team next season are very high given how young we were this season.”

However, Kennedy says the 2007 version of the Bulldogs will always hold a special place in his heart.

“This is a special team. They were my first as a head football coach and I love them to death,” Kennedy said. “As an assistant coach, I looked at the position players right under me as my own. With this team, they were all mine.”

Contact Sports Editor Jonathan Hull by calling 263-7331, ext. 237, or by e-mailing him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it