Bulldogs run over Lion's

Who: Jefferson Lions (2-5)vs. Creswell Bulldogs (2-5)
Score: Creswell 57, Jefferson 28
When: Friday, Oct. 16
Where: Jefferson High School
Why: Battle for Pacwest league placing


Friday's game turned out to be a long one, especially for the Lions as they could not stop the running of Creswell, which defeated Jefferson 57-28.

This would mark the seventh game of the season for the Jefferson Lions (2-5). They would take on the Bulldogs of Creswell (2-4). This would be a PacWest game and would play a factor in league placing.

Creswell would have the ball the majority of the time throughout the whole game. Especially in the fourth, when they held the ball for 10 minutes.

"They were a smash-mouth team and we just couldn't stop them," Coach David Bailey said.

That would prove to be their nail in the coffin as they would lose 57-28.

The first half was basically a shoot out with Creswell scoring 50 and Jefferson scoring 20.

Things would slow down in the second half as the Bulldogs only scored 7 and Jefferson only scoring 8.

"It's hard to score when you don't have the ball," Bailey said. "We were on the verge of scoring in the fourth, but we had a turnover and they kept the ball basically for the rest of the game." Creswell rushed for over 300 yards in the game.

One run in particular summed up how bad the run defense of Jefferson was. Creswell would score on a long run play only to have that play taken back due to a penalty. The next play, Creswell did it again this time adding 15 more yards to the run.

This has been one of the biggest problems with the Lions throughout the season. The smash-mouth teams are taking advantage of the Lions inability to stop the run.

Some of those problems could be due to the experience and age of the players he has.

“We need to just win some of the 1-1 battles,” Bailey stated. “We just need to get back to the fundamentals which are blocking, tackling and catching the ball.”

There were a couple of bright spots in the game. Alex Ortiz threw for 330 yards with four touchdowns with only two picks.

With the playoffs coming soon, the Lions feel that next weeks game against Harrisburg is a must have if they want to make it to playoffs.

“We can make playoffs,” Senior Alex Ortiz said. “We just need to continue working on our offense and defense.”

The Lions also made a move that Bailey feels like they should’ve made earlier. Senior Ryan Montgomery is being moved to the receiver position instead of playing running back.

“I just do what coach tells me to do,” Montgomery said.
To build team unity and to show their devotion, the Lions meet on Saturday and sold tickets for a raffle and watched game film.

“I think it was good for us to see who was devoted and serious about making the playoffs,” Montgomery added. “It’s just good for the team and it’s something we’ve never really done.”

The Lions next game is against PacWest foe Harrisburg at Harrisburg. Game time is 7:00 and it is on Friday, Oct. 19.