The Thorndale Bulldogs lost their first game of the season on the road, 21-20, to the Holland Hornets.
The Hornets went as far as the regional semi-finals in 2017 and have eight defensive starters from last year’s team.
“We played really well defensively,” said Scott Hawkins, THS athletic director and head football coach. “We made some mistakes on offense that put us in bad field position.”
The score was close the entire game, but two failed two-point conversions were the difference between a victory and defeat for the Bulldogs.
“Things didn’t go as planned,” Hawkins said. “We missed two point after attempts and lost by one,” he said.
Thorndale was first to score on a two-yard run by running back Luke Leschber. Leschber failed to make it across the goal line on the two-point conversion. The Bulldogs led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Holland seized the lead after quarterback Zane Spinn scored on a 23-yard run. Kicker Garrett Kurtz made the extra point to put the Hornets ahead 7-6. Leschber answered back with with an 11-yard run and another failed two-point conversion. The Bulldogs were ahead 12-7.
Holland took back the lead before the end of the half on a 28-yard run by running back Clay Cooper. Kurtz made the extra point to take the lead again 14-12.
The game remained close with a scoreless third quarter, but the Hornets went up by more than a touchdown in the opening seconds of the final quarter. Wide receiver Caleb Cearley scored on a 30-yard touchdown run, and Kurtz made his third extra point of the night to put Holland ahead of Thorndale 21-12.
Bulldogs running back Scott Guzman recovered a fumble that he returned for a 70-yard touchdown. Guzman also completed the two-point conversion on a pass from quarterback Cayden Nicholson, making the score 21-20.
Holland held onto the lead in the last four minutes of the game to defeat Thorndale. L 47 On 28 Friday, the Bulldogs go DNP on the road against the Thrall Tigers for the “Battle of 79”.
“The 79 rivalry is always a good game,” Hawkins said. “Both teams always get up for the game and usually play their best game of the year that night.”
The Bulldogs and the Tigers have played each other 87 times. Thorndale leading the series rivalry 54-30-3 and has won 34 of the last 39 meetings. Last year the Bulldogs won 48-18 in a game they needed to stay in playoff contention.
This year’s Thrall Tigers are currently 0-2 in district with a 54-6 road loss to Hearne, and 14-13 loss to Milano at home in their district opener.
“They don’t have a good record,” Hawkins said. “But that isn’t representative of the caliber of team they have.”
Kickoff starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Thrall.
Photo Teresa Geng
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