The Bulldogs upset the Wolves in Edlam football matchup

Jett Birsner, Staff Writer.

This past Friday, Sep. 23, the Santa Fe Wolves varsity football team took on their rival down 15th street, the Edmond Memorial Bulldogs. The Bulldogs beat the Wolves 28-7 becoming City Champs for the first time since 2014.

The Wolves have had a rough start to their season. Through the first four games of the season, the Wolves are 0-4 with a total point differential* of -49. Meanwhile, The Bulldogs are 3-2 with a total point differential of 20.

In the first quarter, both teams struggled to find their footing due to strong defensive play from both sides. There was only one first down in the first nine minutes of play. This changed when Demarius Robinson (RB#6) was subbed in for the Wolves in the final four minutes of the first quarter.

Robinson would rush for a total of 35 yards and two first downs. The drive was capped off by Maliki Miller (QB#7) with a fake hand-off run play that netted the Wolves a touchdown. This put the wolves in the lead 7-0. Unfortunately for the Wolves, these would be the only points they put on the board the entire game.

Things began to fall apart for the Wolves at the start of the second quarter. Due to a Bulldog fumble at the end of the first quarter, the Wolves started the second quarter within eight yards of their opponent’s end zone, but they squandered their opportunity to score because of some phenomenal Bulldog defense and a missed field goal attempt. This was a huge momentum swing for the Bulldogs, and they would have complete control of the game from that point onward.

On the Bulldog’s next possession, with 9:37 remaining in the second quarter, the Bulldogs would tie up the game off of a 50-yard pass to a completely wide-open receiver. The Wolves then tried to respond, but the Bulldogs’ defense was too much for the remainder of the second quarter, and the game would stay tied going into halftime.

The Bulldogs started the third quarter with the ball, and they would take full advantage of this possession. With 8:27 remaining in the third quarter, the Bulldogs scored their second touchdown of the game off of another 50-yard pass to a wide-open receiver. No team scored for the remainder of the third quarter, and the Bulldogs led 14-7 going into the fourth quarter.

The Wolves were unable to mount any offense during the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs would score two more touchdowns. Their first touchdown of the quarter was off of a pass play and the second was off of a rush play. This resulted in the biggest loss of the season for the Wolves with a final score of 7-28.

The start of the season has been rough, but there is still lots of football to be played, and hopes of a playoff run are still alive for the Wolves.

“We need to start winning games, but we definitely have a lot of life left,” Assistant Coach Robert Carriger said.