The Dublin Lions may have logged a loss in their first district game Oct. 11 but the pride put forth prowess in shrinking the score gap by game’s end while garnering some impressive stats.
“The kids played hard and we continue to see improvement,” said athletic director/head football coach Greg Hardcastle. “There were times we didn’t tackle well but we got stops when we needed them. I’m very pleased with the effort.”
The visiting Brady Bulldogs claimed the lead early claiming 7 points in the first quarter while Rey Chacon put a field goal through the uprights to add 3 for the Lions. (Chacon also went four for four in PAT kicks.)
Second quarter scoring put the score at 20-10 in Brady’s favor, but a fourth quarter push put the Lions within three at game’s end, ending 34- 31.
Quarterback Kaden Gaitan provided support with 360 yards of passing and 71 yards of rushing.
DJ Ferguson led in receiving for the Lions with 151 yards while Francisco Garcia followed with 95.
On the defensive end, Alonso Moreno had 10 tackles while Ferguson had 9, Jake Southall had 8, Caige Balvantin and Garcia had 7 and Sev Ruiz had 5.
Harcastle said the Lions will face a tough opponent in Tolar in their away game Oct. 18, but Dublin started the week with a strong practice session and should bring a fight to the Rattlers.
“The attitude’s been great,” Hardcastle said of his team. “They’re doing a great job at practice and continuing to work on things we need to fix.”
Tickets for the Tolar game can be purchased at the gate and the game will be streamed on Tolar’s Hudl TV page for a small fee.