Burnet football loses to Taylor
CAPTION: Burnet offensive coordinator Tyler Fambrough (left) and head coach Ben Speer. Photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School football team lost to Taylor 49-30 Sept. 4 in the Bulldogs’ home opener.
“The old saying – they are who we thought they are,” Bulldogs head coach Ben Speer said. “They’re just very athletic. They play well when they’re in front. They were in front most of the time and they were tough when they had that momentum going.”
Ducks (2-0) junior quarterback Johnny Guzman scored on a seven-yard run to give Taylor a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
But the Bulldogs responded with a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Ethan Sanchez. Marco Campos-Huerta added the extra point to tie the contest at 7-7, also in the opening period.
Taylor added a 10-yard touchdown run by Guzman for a 14-7 lead in the second stanza then Guzman hit sophomore receiver Jeremiah Caldwell on the first of multiple touchdown passes. This one came from 24 yards out for the 21-7 advantage, also in the second quarter.
Burnet answered on a one-yard touchdown run by senior athlete Bryan Johnson to trim the deficit to 21-13.
But the Ducks got the touchdown back when Guzman found Caldwell on a 20-yard pass to give Taylor a 28-13 lead at the break.
Campos-Huerta connected on a 24-yard field goal to cut into the deficit 28-16 in the third quarter.
The Ducks answered again. This time Caldwell caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Guzman and a 35-16 lead headed into the final period.
The Bulldogs scored on a five-yard pass to Sanchez from junior quarterback Fisher Powell for a 35-23 deficit.
Guzman added a 12-yard touchdown run and senior halfback Kavon Godwin scored the Ducks’ final touchdown on a one-yard run for 49-23 lead.
Sanchez scored on a two-yard run to end the scoring.
Each offense ran 58 offensive plays with the Ducks generating 484 yards of total offense thanks to 326 rushing yards.
Guzman connected on 10 of 14 passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns while scoring two rushing touchdowns.
“The quarterback is really good,” Speer said. “He did a really good executing his reads in their run game and running the ball as well. He was pretty efficient throwing the ball. That was a real killer for us – he has the ability to extend plays. He’s a tremendous athlete back there. He’s not your 6-2, 6-1 quarterback. But he can boogie and when we would bottle things up and break through the line of scrimmage and bust things through, he would be able to escape, throw it downfield or get out the back door and run down 15 to 20 yards and then get back and do it again. So that was tough because anytime you get them to third down, you go ‘all right, we have a pretty good chance,’ and then he would extend the play.”
Burnet had 269 yards of total offense. Powell completed 15 of 23 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson had four catches for 53 yards, Sanchez had four receptions for 43 yards and a score, senior receiver Calan Syphrett had three catches for 69 yards, and senior fullback Alex Perez had three catches for three yards.
Johnson had nine rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown, while Sanchez had 11 carries for 40 yards and two scores.
Speer noted the Bulldogs have players who were sidelined who are expected to return and contribute.
“The challenge this week was trying to deal with some great athletes, and we have to be able to adjust to those things,” he said. “We were able to do it here and there a little bit. I think the biggest struggle is we’re down a couple of guys on defense for various reasons. We’re still creating some depth, and we still have some guys playing who don’t have any varsity experience and that’s good and all, but we have to get them ready to play. Even when these other guys come back, they’re going to have a role to play.”
Burnet will welcome Lago Vista (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11. The Vikings defeated Fischer Canyon Lake 35-21 Sept. 4 and lost to Lorena 42-7 Aug. 28.
