by The word of the night for this OHSAA Division 3 Region 10 first round matchup between the Bulldogs from Defiance and the home team Rockets from Bay Village was defense. The game was not for the faint of heart and there were helmets and shoulder pads popping loudly all night. The weather person called in a big favor today to allow such amazing weather tonight with partly cloudy skies and a balmy 70 degrees at kickoff.
The Bulldogs came into the game with a record 7-3 playing out of the Western Buckeye League and the Rockets came into the game with a record of 8-2 playing out of the Great Lakes Conference. The Rockets came in as the 8th seed in Division 3 Region 10 and the Bulldogs came in as the 9th seed in Division 3 Region 10 and were only separated by .023 points in the computer rankings.
The Rockets won the pre-game toss and chose to defer to the second half which meant the Bulldogs offense would be on the field immediately. The opening drive for the Bulldogs started from their own 25-yard line and they were able to methodically move the ball down the field with relative ease. The 12-play drive did cover 75 yards and it culminated in a 2-yard passing play from QB Brez Zipfel to TE Garret Rodenberger. The only passing play of the drive was the touchdown pass to finish the drive. The workhorses for the Bulldogs on the drive was RB Brogan Castillo who carried the ball 8 times for 48 yards and RB Anthony Wilder who carried the ball 3 times for 28 yards. The scoreboard illuminated Bulldogs 7 Rockets 0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Rockets had the ball at the beginning of the second quarter and their offense was sputtering and not able to make any traction against a stifling Bulldog defense. Rocket QB Michael Farrell handed the ball off to RB Brendan Spellman and Spellman promptly fumbled the handoff but composed himself and picked up the fumble. The stalwart running back reversed the field and did not find a Bulldog defender in sight and he scampered 44 yards to pay dirt.
The next possession for the Bulldogs began with an amazing 45-yard kickoff return by RB Anthony Wilder which set them up near midfield. The other half of their two headed monster running back group RB Brogan Castillo finished the drive off with an 8 yard touchdown run. The halftime score was Bulldogs 14 Rockets 7.
The Rockets received the second half kickoff and were once again not able to get any traction against a stout Bulldog defense that seemed to stop the Rockets in every way, shape or form. The teams punted the ball back and forth to each other 8 times over the next quarter and a half. In the fourth quarter, Bulldog QB Zipfel decided to throw a screen pass and it was sniffed out by Rocket DB Robert Corbin and the pass went in and out of his hands. Corbin had nothing in front of him but green turf and it would have tied the game.
The Bulldog running game was too overwhelming and they were able to run the clock out and move on to the second round of the playoffs. Final Score Bulldogs 14 Rockets 7
The Bulldogs(8-3) move on to play Toledo Catholic Central next Friday at Toledo Catholic Central
The Rockets finish their season at 8-3
The player of the game was Bulldogs RB Brogan Castillo who carried the ball 22 times for 138 yards and 1 touchdown.
