Football season concludes with bi-district loss
The Marlin Bulldogs finished out the season on Thursday, Nov. 12, with a devastating loss against the Bosqueville Bulldogs.
The teams were competing to head to the next round of the 2020 Football Conference 2A D1 tournament. The game, held at Waco ISD Stadium, was attended by hundreds anticipating the outcome of the bi-district game.
Marlin players found themselves outnumbered as the Bosqueville defense put up a strong fight. The ball passed back and forth between teams until Bosqueville scored their first touchdown of the night. The 49-yard passing touchdown came just after Marlin punted to the other Bulldogs.
The first quarter ended with Boasqueville topping Marlin at 0-14.
The second quarter was similar, with Marlin failing to get any points on the board. Both teams were forced to punt multiple times and neither defense would give up. Bosqueville widened their lead about midway through though, scoring three touchdowns within the span of 90 seconds. They also performed a spectacular recovery of a Marlin fumble and cemented their halftime score. With less than two minutes left in the quarter, Marlin's defense got a stop. Though the Marlin Bulldogs gained possession of the ball, they were unable to score before the timer dwindled to zero.The athletes headed into halftime with a score of 0-36.
Marlin kicked off to Bosqueville to commence the third quarter. After two more touchdowns and an additional 14 points by Bosqueville, Marlin’s Tra Butler impressed the crowd with a 49-yard rushing touchdown. David Haynes III was right behind him for a rushing two-point conversion. The third quarter ended 8-57.
Marlin was forced to turn over on downs at the start of the fourth quarter. Bosqueville scored intermittently while each team’s defense fought to hold the other back. Again Marlin had possession of the ball with two minutes left in the game. The team failed to lessen the gap, choosing instead to punt to Bosqueville with less than a minute left. The game finished out with a score of 8-72.
Coach David Haynes Jr. has made a huge impact on Bulldog athletics, inheriting a team that lost every game in 2018. The Marlin Bulldogs finished out their 2020 season at (4-5), which was the team's best season since a four-win campaign in 2017. They placed second in district only to Italy and are ranked 1044 out of 1214 teams in the state of Texas.
Marlin may have lost this dog fight, but they’ll be back in action next school year ready to take home their rightful title.