Bulldog Football Wins Ranked Matchup over Nevada on Homecoming in Week 4
The #9 (3A) Hampton-Dumont-CAL football team won a thrilling matchup of unbeatens 24-21 over #6 (3A) Nevada, in Friday’s non-district finale. It’s the program’s first 4-0 start since 2014.
The Bulldogs found the endzone first, late in the first quarter on a touchdown reception by Scott Harr on a pass by Gavin Meader, to go up 7-0. The Cubs responded with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, tying the game up 7-7 and that remained the score at halftime. The Bulldogs broke the tie in the 3rd quarter on a 29 yard field goal by Tucker Heeran, and extended their lead with a 16 yard touchdown carry by Karter Janssen. The Cubs trimmed it to a one score game again in the fourth quarter on a 63 yard touchdown, making it 17-14. The Bulldogs punched in their final score on a long drive ended by a Gavin Meader rushing touchdown with five minutes to go in the fourth. The Cubs got to within three points, but the Bulldogs held their ground and forced a turnover on downs on Nevada’s final drive to secure the memorable Homecoming win.
Head Coach Cole Miller says the matchup with Nevada was a wild ride, and was thankful for the great energy and support brought by the Bulldog crowd.
"An exciting win we really had to gut one out, a roller coaster ride of up's and down's, so it feels really good to walk out of homecoming with a victory against a very good Nevada team," says Miller. "The crowd was huge, they did a great job of bringing the energy and we were able to feed off that. At times they were getting loud and it was hard for their offense to communicate and signal in plays, so I think they definitely had an impact tonight in one way or another. Definitely very thankful for the community support, student support, faculty support and everyone showing up to help us get a victory."
The Bulldogs were led by senior quarterback Gavin Meader’s 100 rushing yards, 95 passing yards, and two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing). Senior running back Brody Walton 124 rushing yards, senior rusher Karter Janssen with 45 yards and a touchdown and senior receiver Tucker Heeran added four receptions for 63 yards. The Bulldogs defense was led by senior defensive back Carson Hisler, and junior’s defensive tackle Austin Hanson and linebacker Colin Bird each with four tackles apiece.
Miller says the Bulldog seniors are battle tested and continue to be a great resource to guide younger players and make plays in crucial moments.
"The experience is very key I think, they went through some up's and down's last year, some of them were able to play acouple of years ago as sophomore's. They've been through alot of tough games, they've been through some up's and some down's, so I think that is the biggest experience that they bring with their leadership, is that they know how to keep a level head in those situations and their able to settle the rest of them down and get them back on track. Their calm, cool, and collected as we need to go out and get a stop on defense or convert a third down on offense. Their leadership is definitely key in our program."
Hampton-Dumont-CAL is 4-0, and their Week 5 matchup will be at Humboldt to begin district play on Friday.
