Bulldogs Maul Roughnecks
White Oak loses their first district game
by: Keller Lott
The Roughnecks took on the Jefferson Bulldogs this past Friday, October 7, in their first district matchup, losing 42-13.
Despite their blowout loss, White Oak scored in three of the four quarters thanks to seniors Landyn Grant and Luke Baker connecting for a touchdown and Aven Whittington nailing two field goals. The Roughnecks’ special teams unit also recovered an onside kick.
“When I saw the ball on the ground, I was not going to let the other team jump on top of it,” senior Casen-Scott Cooper said. “I felt like I started some momentum with the recovery, coaches were fired up on the sidelines and I got constant high-fives from my teammates.”
Even though the Bulldogs scored five offensive touchdowns, the inside linebackers still posted impressive numbers with a fumble recovery by senior Holden Hodges and 12 tackles from Luke Baker.
“I am very confident about moving forward because we improve after every single game we play, but we definitely haven’t played to our full potential,” Baker said. “I feel like there’s a good amount of people on the team who are giving it their all, by getting our offense and defense running smother. Although, our defense needs to adjust to where certain players are on the field and are more prepared for teams to throw deep balls at us.¨
However, the linebackers aren’t the only defenders being recognized as senior Caden Tyner received a scholarship from the Friday Night Scoreboard Show during Friday’s pep rally.
“When I was awarded the scholarship, I was shocked and excited at the same time,” Tyner said. “My teammates and coaches congratulated me and it made me feel good. The past few weeks we've played some good teams who have known how to stop the run and we didn’t have much to counter it, but we have a lot of talented guys and when we get in sync we’re tough to beat.”
Despite this week's shortcomings, all three seniors had positive outlooks for the rest of the season.
“I think the team has done well so far, but we aren’t near our top potential,” Cooper said. “We have the mindset to prove the doubters wrong. We are projected to get last in the district, and that just makes it even more eager for us to go out and win. We have always been doubted ever since the start of the season. We will keep working and put on a show in the upcoming weeks.”
The Roughnecks will try to rebound against the 3-3 Tatum Eagles this coming Friday in Tatum.