By Christy Suggs

Red River Bulldogs and fans traveled over 2 hours Friday night to take on the Avoyelles Mustangs for the last game of the regular season. The chatter and excitement in the stands before the game was a mixture of “If we win…, If we lose…” But one thing for sure was everyone was there to support the Dawgs win or lose.

The teams hit the field full force for the kickoff. Avoyelles received and started their drive down the field. Avoyelles began to do the thing they are known for, the 3 yard and a cloud of dust offense. One their first drive Avoyelles took up half of the first quarter.  They scored a touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion. Red River would not be out done scoring just 24 seconds later. The Bulldogs put a touchdown by Elijah Harper on the board in 2 plays, making the score 7-8. 

Once again the Mustangs take possession of the ball, slowly moving down the field using their signature offensive plays to eat more time off the clock. They score a touchdown along with a 2 point conversion, moving their lead to 9 (RR  7- AHS 16). The Bulldogs were denied a first down deep in Mustang territory. Although Avoyelles was able to complete and score on their next drive, they left too much time before the half. The Bulldogs capitalized on the 1:19 and scored a touchdown by QB Tre Smith with a 2-point conversion by Antron Williams. The teams headed to the locker rooms with a score of RR 15 Avoyelles 24. 

Bulldogs came out determined, ready to fight! Tre Smith scores a rushing touchdown in under 2 mins making the score 21-24.  Avoyelles began their march down the field, but the Bulldogs force a fumble deep in their own territory.  This fumble was the turning point of the game. Excitement took over the stands. The Bulldogs started their drive on their own 6 yard line.  It took 11 plays for the Bulldogs to march down the field and score, Ending an 11 play drive,  QB Tre Smith scored another rushing touchdown giving Red River the lead for the first time. Ryder Hogan kicked in the extra point making the score RR 28 AHS 24. Fans were on their feet for the rest of the game, cheering and encouraging Bulldogs with each play. With the momentum on the Dawgs side, the defense came up with a huge 4th down play, giving the ball back to the offense. From the Mustang’s 45, Tre Smith threw a screen pass to Running Back Stanley Maxie for a touchdown.  The Bulldogs extended their lead by 8 points with a 2 point conversion making the score 36-24 in 4th quarter with 9:22 to go.

On their first passing play of the night the Mustangs scored a 59 yard touchdown and a 2 point conversion. (RR 36 AHS 32 7:20). The Bulldogs took the ball back and marched down the field. On the 1 yard line, the Bulldogs handed the ball off to fullback Trenton Grigg for a touchdown and Ryder Hogan kicked in a PAT bringing the score up to RR 43 AHS 32.

The Mustangs tried for another deep pass but failed, throwing the ball straight to defender Jakyius Palmer with 5 minutes to go. Again, the Bulldogs scored very quickly, with a rushing touchdown from Stanley Maxie.  Ryder Hogan capped his performance of with one more PAT going ⅘ for the night. The ultimate kill shot to the Mustang’s game was a forced fumble giving the ball back to the Bulldogs. Tre Smith would end the game with a knee. Final score was RR 50 Avoyelles 32.

The Bulldogs finished the season 7-3 overall and 5-1 in district. The Bulldogs are ranked 9th in 2A heading into round 1 of the playoffs.

Head Coach Harper had this to say about the night and the upcoming playoff game, “We finally played four quarters of football with great effort, attention to detail, didn’t turn the ball over & created turnovers. It was a great team win.  We hope to build on the momentum as we enter the playoffs.  Our guys have their minds set on Rayville this week. We are excited to host the first round which allows our seniors to play in front of the community in the playoffs.”

The #9 Bulldogs will play #24 Rayville in the first round of the playoffs at the Dawg Pound Friday at 7 PM. Come support the Dawgs.