The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs fell short of the district title in a 40-14 loss against the Leon Cougars on Friday.
Leon secured its spot as district champion Friday with the decisive win at Corrigan, taking a comfortable early lead and putting the Bulldog offense behind the sticks when it mattered.
“We were fighting an uphill battle early and you cannot give an 8-0 team any momentum like that. At times, offensively, we moved the ball well, but when they turned up the pressure and brought the blitz, that put us behind.” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “They deserve to be district champs, but we have resilient players, and I would love to see them again.”
Cougar senior wide receiver Cooper Stevens caught a deep pass on the opening drive to help Leon quickly reach Bulldog territory. Shortly after, Cougar senior receiver Josh Wilson took a short pass and broke a tackle into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. This gave Leon the early 7-0 lead.
Wilson followed that up on defense, cutting off a pass intended for Bulldog senior back Mason Murphy and taking it all the way for a pick-six to make it a two-score advantage.
Corrigan had a third-and-inches on the next possession, but was stopped for a loss trying to hand off in the backfield and was forced to punt.
Leon’s offense continued to get chunk plays on the next drive and finished with a short pass to Stevens for another touchdown. This further extended the lead for the Cougars 20-0 after a missed extra point.
Cougar senior running back Brady Rohrer later punched in a six-yard touchdown to make it 27-0 early in the second quarter.
Corrigan's defense did manage to get one red zone stop on Leon to prevent another score before halftime.
Senior quarterback William Ratliff capitalized to start the second half, taking a 52-yard keeper all the way for a touchdown to finally put Corrigan on the board 27-7 with the extra kick.
On their next possession, the Bulldogs would get stopped on another fourth-and-inches and turn the ball over in their own territory. This set up a short field for Leon and Cougar senior running back Matthew Lim later ran for a short touchdown to extend the lead 33-7 late in the third.
Murphy caught a bomb over the defenders for a huge gain on the next Bulldog possession, then drew a personal foul to set up Corrigan near the red zone. However, an open touchdown reception by Bulldog senior tight end Tahj Thomas at the start of the fourth was somehow reversed by the officials, taking away another potential score for Corrigan.
Leon would quickly drive, and Stevens made a 10-yard touchdown catch to further pull away to a 40-7 lead.
Corrigan marched down the field late in the game and Bulldog junior running back Derrick Reagie took an option pitch for a three-yard touchdown to help cut the final deficit.
The playoff-bound Bulldogs will play their last regular season game on the road versus the Centerville Tigers, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
“Centerville is going to be physical as well with a similar style, so we have to use this as a learning piece,” Ratliff said. “With more games coming up, we need to analyze and use it to our advantage moving forward.”
