Corrigan-Camden played up a few classifications Friday night in Tarkington, yet controlled a 33-0 football contest in the 2025 season opener.
The Bulldogs (1-0) started the game by kicking off, and within two plays, had recovered a fumble to set up their offense at the Longhorn 30. On the second offensive play, Derrick Reagie sprinted 25 yards to give Corrigan Camden a 7-0 advantage.
Two possessions later, the ‘Dog offense started back at its own 11. A 16-play march spanning 7:36 of play clock allowed backup quarterback Braylon Levy to sneak it in from the three-yard line and double the lead.
“We started out slow and we were a little nervous in the first game,” Corrigan-Camden coach Brett Ratliff said. “It is a first-time starting quarterback, so Will (Ratliff) had to get used to the rhythm and how everything went. I thought we executed well.
“When we were under center, they were coming with both ‘backers and their (Wade Wright) is a dude. (Tarkington coach) Toby (Belt) had him in the right spots at the right times and he watched enough video to know what we do. What we did is go into (shotgun) and spread them out just a little bit.
“We ran the exact same plays, and that kind of moved them out a little bit to still run our inside game. Once we established that inside game a little bit better, that outside popped back open like it did last year for us. Our players made plays when they were supposed to. This is the first game in a long time that I can remember us having no passing yards, and we didn't try to throw the ball too much.”
Near the end of the half, Mason Murphy intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, but an offsides call nullified the play. The Bulldogs went into the band break up 14-0.
Though the larger school, Tarkington (0-1) struggled on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Instead, it was the Class 2A school that controlled the game up front on both offense and defense.
“We got tired and we bent a little bit on defense, but we never broke,” Ratliff said. “On offense, we finally found lanes and finally made our plays that we are supposed to make. We loosened up and played good football and looked really good at times. I am excited and it's something to build on, for sure.”
The offense began clicking consistently in the second half, scoring on three consecutive possessions. The first was set up by a fumbled punt, and Ratliff kept it for 27 yards, extending the lead to 20-0.
Getting yards in big chunks, the visitors covered 88 yards in five plays to go up 27-0, culminating in a 30-yard scoring run by Reagie.
The final touchdown was scored again by Ratliff, who had plenty of room to keep an option and could have walked over the goal line.
On Tarkington's final possession, a pass into the end zone was intercepted by Peden Walker to keep the goose egg on the board permanently. It was a fitting end to a dominant performance by coordinator Amaro Villareal’s defense.
The Longhorns didn’t have many highlights on offense.
“I think they probably had two (big plays) against our (starters), and one of them was where they cut back and we were in the wrong spot. Late in the game, we had our (second team) in and they hit one over the top, but we bowed our necks and got an interception when we needed to at the end to hold on to the shutout. That was important to Coach V and the defense. They rose to the occasion when they were supposed to and that gave us a lot of confidence.”
The win should serve as a boost, as the team navigates a tough non-district slate, with a home game versus Hardin next up. The Hornets were 48-0 victors over Warren Friday.
“There are definitely things that we've got to fix and have to correct and get better. We have to get in a little bit better rhythm. They were a physical team and we are going to see more physical teams, so we needed to see that kind of ball game. We are just going to keep pushing forward one game at a time.”
