The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs suffered a 56-0 shutout loss against the Hardin Hornets in their non-district opener at home Friday.
Although the Bulldogs had occasional sparks on both sides of the ball, the Hornets pulled away early and asserted their strength from the line for most of the night.
“The inexperience of our line versus a very solid, returning team in Hardin made the difference,” said head coach Brett Ratliff. “They were undefeated last year and got beat by the state champions, so I knew how good they were going to be. We just did not pick up blitzes well and were unable to get many positive gains on first down.”
Hardin’s offensive power upfront was clear from its starting drive, as junior quarterback Kolten Bishop ran a long-distance touchdown for the early score.
A defensive pass interference call on third down against Corrigan helped set up for the Hornets to go up 14-0 going into the second quarter.
The Bulldog defense would make a crucial stop in the backfield to prevent the next potential scoring drive for Hardin.
Corrigan followed up with a couple of first-down conversions, which included a long gain tush push and a big run by senior running back Derrick Reagie. However, the Bulldogs were sent back from an illegal shift penalty and just missed a long pass on a fourth-down try.
The Hornet offense responded, marching down the field with sophomore Jayden Bell taking most of the carries and finishing on a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 late in the half.
Before the Bulldogs could go into halftime, a fumble on the next kickoff was recovered for another Hornet touchdown.
Hardin’s offense began in the third quarter with Bishop throwing a long pass to senior tight end Cade Drake. This set up a short rushing touchdown for the Hornets.
Later in the third, a huge fourth-down pass kept the next Hornet drive rolling for another scoring drive, finished with an open touchdown reception. Hardin scored an additional touchdown late in the third and another in the fourth.
“Hardin did an exceptional job, but our players never quit. We need to build on that and work on technique and execution if we want to get better,” said Ratliff.
Corrigan will face the Colmesneil Bulldogs for its next non-district match at home, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
