Bulldog Chase Henderson recovers a high snap in endzone for a Dawg touchdown. Photo by Kirk Kern.
Coach Yori Ludvigson expected big things from Senior Junior Paongo Friday night and the stocky fullback did not let him down. Paongo rambled for 103 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns to lead the Dawgs to a season opening 41-13 win over Western High School Warriors in Las Vegas.
The Bulldogs found themselves down early as Western’s speedy running back Kenric Davis ripped off a long touchdown run of 71 yards on the first play of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs tied the game two minutes later on a 16 yard T.D. run from Paongo. Caesar Zarate’s extra point kick was good. The Dawgs defense held the Warriors on the next possession and took the lead on Chase Henderson’s blocked punt in the end zone. Paongo added two extra points up the middle to give the Bulldogs a 15-7. Bulldog quarterback Jarron Linge ended the first half scoring with a two yard carry up the gut and Zarate added the extra point to give the Dawgs a 22-13 lead at the half.
The second half was all Bulldogs as their defense shut down the Warriors.
Paongo added a 10 yard T.D. run increasing the Bulldogs lead to 28-13 after three quarters of play. Linge scored on a four yard keeper early in the fourth quarter and running back Josh Bishop finished the scoring with an eight yard run making the final score Bulldogs 41-13 over the host Warriors. “I liked the way our kids came out in the second half. Our defense played really well,” said coach Ludvigson. “We gave up two big plays in the first half and that was about it. All our special teams played well. We put a lot of time in them and the two blocked punts were huge. They changed the game but we need to improve next week at Faith Lutheran.”
Bulldog quarterback Jaron Linge #3 attempts a pass against Western Friday night. Linge ran for two touchdowns to lead the Dawgs victory, Photo by Kirk Kern.
The Crusaders are the returning state 1-A champs and return a strong team from last year. Linge and backup Cody Jones combined for 102 yards through the air. The Bulldogs’ first home game will be on September 12 against Del Sol High School at 7 p.m.
