Bison come out on short end of championship battle, 14-21

The offensive line makes a hole for Quarterback Jordan Canady to score from the one-yard line and tie the game at 14 in the third quarter. Van’Go’photo The outcome of the District 21AA season came down to Friday night's contest between Buffalo and New Waverly. A Bison victory would have put BHS in a three-way tie for first, and NWHS was needing the win to stand alone at the top of the heap. There was plenty on the line, and the game turned out to be everything that a championship game SHOULD be. Ultimately, the Bulldogs came from behind and stopped a fourth quarter charge by the Bison, taking the District title for the second year in a row.

The defenses dominated in the first quarter as both teams took a few possessions to get their offensive game in gear. NWHS limited Aurelio Dominguez to short yardage in the Bison's opening series, and BHS had to punt after three. Senior Jordan Canady led the Bison defenders with a big tackle on the ensuing kick, and made a touchdownsaving leap to break up a third-down pass and kill the Bulldogs' opening drive.

Flex Girls (L-R) Desiree Worthy, Kelsey Canady, Jalissa Corbin and Bri Walker add to the fun at the pep rally to get the Bison players and fans fired up for The Big Game. Van’Go’photo Buffalo fumbled away their next possession at midfield, then the BHS defense forced a New Waverly punt from 4th-and-13.

The Bison finally got their ground game going in the next series as the offensive line started controlling the line of scrimmage. BHS strung together several first downs, with seniors Aaron Bell and Dakota Champion picking up good yardage. The wheels came off again about midfield. Freshman Dominic Jackson booted a nice punt that backed the Bulldogs up to their own 13-yard-line.

There, Jacob Rodell and Jared Hawthorne led the defenders in applying heavy pressure. Aurelio Dominguez turned the momentum in a blink of an eye as he stripped the ball from Bulldog quarterback Zay Harrison. That set the Bison "O" up at the NW-21-yard-line. A great gain by Canady on the keeper was nullified by a holding penalty, but the Bison did not lose their focus. The BHS coaches put a new twist in their offense and caught New Waverly off-guard on the next play with a reverse that sprung Esteban Espinoza to the 2-yard-line. From there, Canady handed off to Aaron Bell who punched in the touchdown. Rigo Andrade added a kick and Buffalo led 7-0 in the opening moments of the second quarter.

Senior Circle was a highlight of the BHS pep rally before the final home game. The Bulldogs charged back, leaning heavily on their elusive running back, Tyren Wwatts (#20), but defenders Dylan Ansley, Jose Dominguez, Daniel Vazquez, Rodell and Hawthorne made the going tough and eventually forced a fumble at the Bufaflo 34-yard-line. Aurelio Dominguez was the first man there for the recovery.

Senior Dylan Ansley, junior Curtis Yates and teammates had held nothing back at the end of the championship game with New Waverly. Van’Go’photo Canady went to the air on the next play with a deep pass to Espinoza, but New Waverly's safety made an outstanding play and picked it off. That charged up the Bulldogs who stormed back up the field to tie the game, 7-7, with 4:33 left in the half.

Ansley took the next kick and got back to the Bison 44-yard-line, where BHS picked up one first down before being forced to punt.

In the final minute of the half, NWHS quarterback Harrison led the Bulldogs back upfield, passing successfully and keeping for a 20-yard gain. The Bulldogs capped the drive with a lastsecond 45-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Watts (#1), added a kick and went into the locker room with a sevenpoint lead.

New Waverly stormed out in the second half looking to put the game away. They marched down the field and were in prime position to take a two-touchdown lead when defender Ryan Read spotted a window of opportunity and picked off a short pass at the 17, squelching that Bulldog threat.

Read’s interception lit a fire under the Bison offense. With the offensive line opening up some big holes, Buffalo quickly racked up five first downs in ten plays, mixing in runs by Bell, Canady and A. Dominguez. The drive was capped by a oneyard TD on the quarterback sneak by Canady. Andrade’s kick split the uprights to tie the game at 14.

New Waverly answered with a scoring drive of their own. Harrison, under pressure by the Bison defenders, managed to scramble free and dropped a pass over defender Bell for the go-ahead touchdown.

Trailing 14-21 late in the fourth quarter, Espinoza took the kick-off to the New Waverly 36-yard line. From there, scrapping for every yard, BHS fought to 4th-and-2 at the NW- 44. Canady got the call and got first-down yardage to keep the drive alive at midfield, and the Bison added two more first downs. The Bulldog defense put up a wall at that point, however, and stopped the Bison at the 18-yard-line on 4th-and-2.

The Bulldog offense was able to pick up a couple of first downs and ran out the clock to capture the district title.

Aurelio Dominguez led the Bison in rushing, carrying 17 times for 82. With that he also hit the 1,200 yard mark on the season. Canady was 6 for 36, Bell 6 for 28, Jose Dominguez 5 for 21, Champion 1 for 10 and Espinoza 4 for 35. Defense standouts included Aurelio Dominguez who caused and recovered a fumble, and Ryan Read’s interception that made the KNES “Play of the Game”.

After the game, Coach Mark Read told his players to hold their heads high, emphasizing, “You played your hearts out. I think you’re the better team.”

The Bison finished the regular season in third place with a district record of 3-2, and will face highly ranked Newton on Thursday at Groveton High School.