Bulldogs and Bearcats Look Right Ship in District Matchup

BRADY— The Brady Bulldogs are looking to rebound after a tough game against the Early Longhorns last week with a win this week against the Ballinger Bearcats.

The Bulldogs had a rough night last Friday against the Early Longhorns, where Early dropped 69 points on Brady. There was plenty of laundry thrown on the field. Enough to make the second quarter take nearly an hour to complete. Now, the Bulldogs will have to put that behind them and focus on the Bearcats if they want a spot in the playoffs.

The Bearcats will have to refocus as well, as they played the Wall Hawks, who also dropped a 60 burger.

Both the Bearcats and Bulldogs have similar schedules as both play an insane pre-district lineup. Ballinger started off with the Sonora Broncos, then Coleman, Stamford, Clyde, Mason, Early, and Wall. Those teams are a combined 41-8 and Ballinger’s district opponents, Wall and Early, have lost two and four respectively.

Of course, Brady started out with Comanche (3-4), Mason, (7-0), Coleman, (6-2), and followed that gauntlet up with Dublin and Christoval. Then, they played the TLCA San Angelo Eagles and Early, where they went 1-1.

Young gunslinger, sophomore Sean Jacoby, stepped up when the team needed a quarterback this season. Jacoby has gone 43-114 for 671 yards, three touchdowns to 12 interceptions. On the ground, he’s added 161 yards and two scores.

Brady has two good running backs who are upperclassmen in Zeke Jones and Daryl Adair, also known as Dash and Bash for their running styles. Jones has 51 attempts for 463 yards and two scores while Adair has 103 carries for 565 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Ashton Taylor has jumped in and out, helping give the two top backs a breather and has 26 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

Through the air, Jones has proved to be a weapon as well, catching 10 passes for 184 yards and one score. The Bulldogs have two receivers out wide in Mason Airheart and Ashton Ramsey, who have combined for 273 yards and two scores.

Ballinger has two underclassmen who have taken snaps at signal caller in Cade Strube and Kyson Weathers. Strube has gone 29-60 for 385 yards and four interceptions and Weathers has gone 22-56 for 336 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

The Bearcats have two backs who take pressure off whoever is at quarterback. Senior Zach Canada and sophomore Aiden Pena have a combined 140 carries for 527 yards and two touchdowns.

Ballinger has a handful of pass catchers. Senior Kyle Bullard has 17 catches for 204 yards, senior Aden Zavala has four catches for 121 yards and one touchdown, junior Jaylen Hernandez has 17 receptions for 174 yards, and sophomore Manny Gonzalez has seven catches for 139 yards.

On the Bearcats defense, Gonzalez and Hernandez have 56 and 59 tackles respectively. Bullard is third in tackles with 40 and Bryce Lopez has 39. Senior Nick Martinez has three sacks, and junior Aven Ochoa has two. Canada and sophomore Aden Sanchez have one each.

Bullard leads the team with two interceptions and Lopez, Gonzalez, and senior Sergio Rangel have one apiece.

The Bulldogs defense flies around the field and Adair leads the team with 57 tackles and Jones follows him with 43. The four top sophomores in the front seven, DeMarcus Reed, Zech Ledezma, Xavier Mendez, and Ashton Taylor, have 35, 35, 29, and 26 tackles respectively.

Reed, Gauge Evans, Johnny Menefield, and Adair have one sack apiece. Ethan Medrano, Reed, and Ramsey each have one interception.

The Bulldogs take on the Bearcats at Bulldog Stadium in Brady, Texas this Friday, October 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.