Historic Bulldog season comes to an end with playoff loss

The Bandera varsity football team gave a high-powered Ingleside squad everything it could have for nearly three quarters Friday night in the area round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs, but the Mustangs ultimately pulled away enroute to a 63-33 finish at Pleasanton’s Eagle Stadium.

The final score didn’t reflect the effort for the Bulldogs, who pushed through a pair of injuries to key leaders early in the game Friday night to go back and forth with an Ingleside team that ranked among the state’s leaders in offensive production per game.

“I’m so proud of how the team responded after a big injury very early in the game,” Bandera athletic director and head coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “Our guys didn’t blink, and for the next two quarters we played great, inspired football. Our guys never stopped fighting and never quit no matter what the score was.”

After Ingleside scored on the game’s opening possession, the Bulldogs and Mustangs exchanged punts before the Bandera defense forced a turnover that gave the team some momentum. Senior Daniel Freeman forced and recovered a fumble to set up a 16-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jesse Cardenas to sophomore Benton Cloudt, and the Bulldogs tied the game at 7-7 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

Another defensive stop by Bandera set up a season-long 86-yard touchdown pass from Cardenas to sophomore wide receiver Jeffry Thomas, but the back-and-forth affair was underway as Ingleside responded right back with a 5-yard touchdown pass of its own to make it 14-14 at the 8:44 mark of the second quarter.

The Mustangs forced an interception on the Bulldogs’ next possession, but Thomas came up with an interception of his own just four plays later, and junior quarterback Dylan Peace connected on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Cloudt to give the Bulldogs a 20-14. Ingleside took a 21-20 lead just three plays later, but a second interception from Thomas set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cardenas to senior Corben Gonzales, making it 26-21 Bandera with just 20 seconds remaining in the half.

“We knew we would have to throw the ball to score points,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “Jeffry Thomas got open on the deep ball a bunch of times, and Corben did a good job making plays as well. Benton Cloudt got open from our hybrid tight end position and scored three touchdowns, and Jesse did a great job of finding those guys.”

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Ingleside was able to complete three straight passes to wide receiver Jaydon Smith, including a 23-yard touchdown pass, just seconds before the halftime buzzer to give the Mustangs a 28-26 lead.

Smith, who is committed to the University of North Texas, tied the national record Friday night for receiving touchdowns in a season with 39. Smith was a big part of the Mustangs’ second-half plans as Ingleside began to pull away from Bandera and ultimately advance to the regional quarterfinals, where they will play state-ranked Wimberley.

“As the game got out of hand and things were going wrong, I looked over at the bench and saw that when teammates could have turned on each other and point fingers, they instead picked each other up,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “I saw guys wrapping their arms around teammates. It was a powerful moment in what is otherwise a very tough situation. We have a bunch of young men who will be great teammates for the rest of their lives. They have the foundations to be a great teammate as a worker, family member or leader of a family. I'm so proud of this group. The thing I'm most proud of is changed lives. I think this season will have that type of impact on this group of players and coaches.”

While Bandera fell short against Ingleside, the Bulldogs finished a historic season at 10-2. The team claimed its first outright district championship since 2007 and its first playoff win since 2008. It’s the program’s first 10-win season since the 2002 state championship season. “I'll remember a special group of players who have been through so much personally on and off the field, who truly bought in and dedicated themselves to something much greater than what they could achieve individually and got it done,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “A group of coaches who poured into and coached our players to be the best version of themselves they could be. This is a group who left no regrets. They ran their race as hard as they could and achieved so many goals along the way. I'm so unbelievably proud that it is hard to put it into words. I'll remember a bunch of CHAMPIONS in every sense of the word!”

Bandera’s senior class, which was in eighth grade when Fontenot-Amedee took over as the Bulldogs’ athletic director and head football coach, finishes its three-year varsity football career with a record of 24-10. The senior class includes Dylan Gherman, Daniel Freeman, Jorge Cabasos, Jesse Cardenas, Corben Gonzales, Carson Powers, Eric Straeter, Aydin De La Cruz, Brandon Sanderson, Rance Roden, Roger McCrobie, Julian Torres, Cade Carriger and Noah Sizemore.

“On paper, their legacy is set,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “They put the roof on the proverbial house of the rebuild of the Bandera Football Program. I can't thank them enough for setting a standard and expectation for how things will be done here in Bandera Athletics for the foreseeable future. They set goals and achieved them. I love them and am so proud of these dudes. They deserve a ton of credit for doing what it takes to be successful. Their parents also bought in and sacrificed a lot for them to be successful and I would like to say thanks to them as well.”

While the loss of the senior class will deliver a blow, Bandera has plenty to look forward to after playing 10 sophomores and a freshman at the varsity level this year while still posting an undefeated JV season as well. The JV Bulldogs finished 8-0-1 as district champions.

“When I interviewed for this job, I told the committee that my goal was to build a successful program that would be sustainable over a long period of time,” Fontenot- Amedee said. “I think we have proved that statement to be true. There's no doubt that we have a lot of talented JV football players, and varsity guys returning. I've said it before — Get your shades out Bulldog fans, the future is bright