THOR NDA LE—The three-time state champion Thorndale Bulldogs dropped their district opener in overtime at home this past Friday night against the Schulenburg Shorthorns. The final score was a hard-fought Shorthorns 41, Bulldogs 40.
The Shorthorns set the pace in the first quarter running into the end zone for the first touchdown of the night. The extra point kick was good and Schulenburg took the lead 7-0.
The Bulldogs quickly responded with junior signal caller Gunner Ferguson rushing three yards and scoring to tie the ballgame after the Bulldog senior kicker Daniel Monroy made the extra point. It was Thorndale 7, Schulenburg 7.
Schulenburg continued to grind it out on the ground and scored again before the end of the first quarter. The Shorthorns made the extra point and took the lead 14-7.
Junior Bulldog wide receiver Jayden Clawson caught and scored on a 86-yard passing play. The pass was thrown by Bulldog quarterback Gunner Ferguson, who ended up with 226 passing yards on the night. Mo n r o y was succ essful with the extrapoint kick, tying the score at 14-14.
The Short horns owned the with two rushing touchdowns. They tried a two-point conversion and failed but made an extra-point kick so the score at the half was Schulenburg 27, Thorndale 14.
Schulenburg continued their roll in the third quarter scoring on another rushing touchdown, made the extra-point kick and the score was Schulenburg 34, Thorndale 14.
The Bulldogs aired it out again in the third quarter. This time it was Bulldog quarterback Ferguson connecting with senior running back Aiden McRae for a 48-yard touchdown reception. Kicker Monroy made the extra point and the score was Schulenburg 34, Thorndale 21. The fourth quarter was all the Bulldogs dogs with both running backs McRae and Noah Crabtree
scoring on short runs to make it a close game. Kicker Monroy had one of his extra point kicks blocked and the other was successful, making him four out of five on the night. The score was now tied Thorndale 34, Schulenburg 34 at the end of regulation.
The game went into overtime and both teams scored making it a nail-biter. The Shorthorns kept it on the ground again, scoring and making their extra-point kick.
Senior Bulldog running back McRae ran 5 yards into the end zone, but the twopoint conversion failed for the Bulldogs and they came up short. The final score was Schulenburg 41, Thorndale 40.
Athletic Director and Head Football Coach John Kovar said, “We had a chance to win, we played hard, these kids never give up. They are always improving and they work hard.”
He added, “Aiden McRae, Gunner Ferguson, Jayden Clawson, Daniel Monroy and the entire offensive line had good games tonight.”
NEXT UP— Thorndale is 0-1 in district play, 0-5 overall, with their next contest being played in Flatonia. The Flatonia Bulldogs are 3-2 overall and 0-1 in district. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m.
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