Game #14 - Loss
Bulldogs fall to Dayton Broncos 28-21; end season 10-4
The Waller High School Bulldogs ended their spectacular season falling just short of the Dayton Broncos 28-21. The Bulldogs, making their second appearance in the state quarterfinals in 25 years, finished the season 10-4.
     Overall, the ball game was a tale of two halves. The first half is the one the Bulldogs would like to forget. The Dogs headed into halftime trailing 21-0 and their backs against the wall. However, with a spirit and character exhibited all season, the Bulldogs emerged from halftime wanting to find a way to win. After a quick offensive series, the Bulldogs punted and it was muffed by a Dayton receiver. The Bulldogs recovered and the comeback was on. Eddie Brown scored two touchdowns and Jeremy Phillips contributed another. With 10 minutes left in the ball game, it was 21-21. Jacob Dodd, Kennedy Vongphakdy, Alex McFaddin, David Hunter, Carlos Portillo, Joplo Bartu, and Andrew Simon started opening holes for Bulldog ball carriers. Jeremy Luckett, Brown, Phillips, and Simon started finishing their runs with ferocity, and the Bronco defenders grew tired of having to step up and make plays. Stephen Williams and Bartu also kept drives alive with timely receptions versus a tough Dayton secondary.
     Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Eddie Brown, Jerrad Jefferson, Seth Cooke, Josh Poyer, Byron Abbs, Robert Nicholson, Brandon Goebel, Jeremy Phillips, Joplo Bartu, Stephen Williams, Robert Loewe, Kenny Wendt, and Trevor Barry. The defense held a potent Dayton offense that had been averaging 49 points per game to just 28. They also held them well below their 450-yard average by giving up only 250-total-yards. Bartu, Wendt, Williams, and Loewe broke up several passes to stall drives. The Bulldogs continued to play their aggressive style of punishing defense and it showed as Dayton players kept becoming slower to return to the line of scrimmage.
     The Bulldogs are to be congratulated on a tremendous season. A special thanks goes to the senior players of Stephen Williams, Joplo Bartu, Jeremy Phillips, Jonathon Base, Jacob Dodd, David Hunter, Carlos Portillo, Kennedy Vongphakdy, Andrew Simon, Brandon Goebel, Jeremy Luckett, Byron Abbs, Trevor Barry, Eddie Brown, Jerrad Jefferson, Josh Poyer, Robert Nicholson, Seth Cooke, Kenny Wendt, Justin Arce, Dexter McKee, Austin Allen, and Clayton Kiesling. These seniors provided the character, leadership, and commitment that paced this team all season long. Congratulations on a job well done.

Players of the Week

Game #13 - Win
WHS Bulldogs derail the L-Train 42-14, Advance to Quarterfinals
     The Waller High School Bulldogs took a business trip to Deer Park on Friday, Nov. 30 and posted a 42-14 trouncing of the Lumberton Raiders. The Bulldogs left no doubt who was the better team. The ‘Dogs will next take on the Dayton Broncos in the state quarterfinals Friday, Dec. 7. The Bulldogs are one of eight teams left in the state in the 4A Division II bracket.
   Offensively, the Bulldogs were paced by Jeremy Phillips who finished the evening with 11 carries for 202-yards and two touchdowns. Jeremy Luckett finished with 17 carries for 98-yards and two touchdowns. The "Beef Package" of Eddie Brown and Jerrad Jefferson rolled in during short yardage situations and busted some heads to keep drives alive. Brown also scored two touchdowns. The offensive line and fullback positions continued to be a bright spot as they were constantly dominating the Raider defensive front. On multiple occasions, spectators could see various players wearing powder blue and red scattered all over the field after being ferociously attacked by the ‘Dogs. Andrew Simon, Jacob Dodd, Kennedy Vongphakdy, David Hunter, Carlos Portillo, and Alex McFaddin paved roads all over Deer Park Stadium. Stephen Williams also hauled in two catches for 60-yards. Joplo Bartu and Mitchell Kapalske continued their sparkling blocking efforts on the edge. Notably, Bartu sprung Jeremy Phillips for a touchdown run by pancaking two Raider defenders on the same play.
     Defensively, Lumerton was mismatched from the beginning. The Bulldog defense continued to show why they are one of the best units in the area by shutting out the Raider offense in the first half. The ‘Dogs had several fourth down stops. Brown, Jefferson, Robert Nicholson, Trevor Barry, Bartu, Byron Abbs, and Josh Dorsey led the front seven. As loud as the crowd was for both sides, fans could still hear the reverberations of Bulldog defenders dishing out punishment, and the Raidernation having no choice but to take it. Kenny Wendt, Miller Pierce, Phillips, Robert Loewe, and Williams played well in the secondary. Loewe added his sixth interception of the season. Jefferson also recovered an opening drive fumble to help set the tone early.
     Waller has a great group of young men to be proud of. They made history Friday night by being the first 4A Waller team to advance to the state quarterfinals. These young men play with a pride and passion that makes people realize they have plenty more in the tank.
     Their next opponent will be the Dayton Broncos Friday, Dec 7 and 7:30 p.m. The new Berry Center complex in Cy-Fair (off Barker Cypress Road) will play host to this Regional Championship game. It was tremendous to see the many Bulldog faithful brave Houston traffic on Friday to be at the Deer Park game. We need as many Waller Bulldog supporters in the stands on Friday night to cheer the guys on to the state semi-finals. Keep supporting the Bulldogs!

Players of the Week

Andrew Simon
Offense

Jeremy Phillips
Offense

Robert Nicholson
Defense

Justin Arce
Special Teams

Game #12 - Win
Bulldogs upset Jack Yates Lions; advance to playoffs round 3
     Waller High School’s Bulldogs completed Thanksgiving weekend with a 28-14 win over the Jack Yates Lions. Yates, previously undefeated on the season, brought a squad laden with Division I talent to Jack Rhoades stadium in Katy. However, the Bulldogs proved up to the task sending the Lions home for the holidays to ponder “what might have been”. Many prognosticators had picked the Lions to win Region III at the beginning of the playoffs. The Bulldogs, unfazed by all of the hype surrounding their opponent, came out of the locker room with a determination and spirit previously not seen by even the coaching staff. Several Bulldog coaches commented after the game that they had not seen their squad as focused as they were on Friday. It showed early.
     The first offensive play of the game went 54-yards for a touchdown. Stephen Williams and company ran the reverse to perfection, as they took an overly aggressive Lion defense behind the woodshed on the first series. Joplo Bartu and Eddie Brown added touchdowns in the first half to give the Bulldogs a commanding 21-7 halftime lead. Worth mentioning was the play of the offensive line. All week, they had heard how big, strong, and fast the Yates defensive front was supposed to be. Whenever Coach Phillips needed some yards, he chose to run behind the five road graders, and their brute strength proved to be too much for even the multitude of talent possessed by Jack Yates. Jacob Dodd, David Hunter, Kennedy Vongphakdy, Carlos Portillo, and Alex McFaddin dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game. Jermery Luckett, Jeremy Phillips, Andrew Simon, Eddie Brown, Joplo Bartu, and Jerrad Jefferson provided powerful runs and devastating blocks that turned out to be Kryptonite for the undefeated Lions. Mitchell Kapalske and Stephen Williams chipped in with timely catches and critical downfield blocks to spring Bulldog backs.
     Defensively, the Bulldogs have been allowing 220-yards per game to their opponent. Jack Yates has been averaging over 400 yards per game. In the classic “something has to give” scenario, it was the Bulldog defense than bent, but the Lion offense that broke. The Bulldogs held the Lions to 190-yards of total offense and 14 points. Both of these statistics were season lows for the Lions. At the end of the day, it was the Bulldogs who looked as if they possessed the Division I talent on the defensive side of the ball. Led by Eddie Brown, Jerrad Jefferson, Josh Poyer, Robert Nicholson, Trevor Barry, Jacob Dodd, Byron Abbs, and Joplo Bartu, the front seven swarmed to the football and let the Lion running backs know it would be a long day. Jeremy Phillips, Brandon Goebel, Robert Loewe, Kenny Wendt, Miller Pierce, and Josh Haines led the secondary and played well all afternoon constantly upsetting the pass attempts by the Lions.
     With the Bulldogs victory, they move into the Regional semifinals to face a tough Lumberton Raiders opponent. The Raiders beat a talented LaMarque team 24-21 to advance. Lumberton is making its first playoff appearance in school history, so it is to be expected that they turn out in droves to support their kids. Against LaMarque, the Lumberton faithful brought 8,000 cheering fans. The Bulldogs too have had tremendous crowds during this playoff run. The Bulldogs need all the support they can get on Friday night at Deer Park Stadium (7:30 p.m. kickoff). Let’s show the ‘Dogs that Waller is behind them and bring a ferocious, victory thirsty crowd to the Lumberton game on Friday night. Keep supporting the Bulldogs!

Players of the Week

Jacob Dodd
Offense

Eddie Brown
Defense

Seth Cooke
Special Teams

Game #11 - Win
Bulldogs knock off Knights in Bi-District Playoff
     The Waller High School Bulldogs continued their winning ways on Friday, Nov. 16 knocking off the McCallum Knights 41-20 in College Station. The Bulldogs improved their record to 8-3 and will play the Jack Yates Lions on Friday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. at Katy ISD’s Rhodes Stadium.
     Offensively, the Bulldogs amassed 555-total-yards. This improved their season average to 436 yards per game. Jermery Luckett carried the ball 18 times for 287-yards while Jeremy Phillips ran 14 times for 234-yards. Luckett’s total pushed him over 1,000 yards for the season. Phillips needs less than 100 yards to become a 1,000 yard rusher and 1,300 yard passer. The offensive line, Jacob Dodd, David Hunter, Carlos Portillo, Kennedy Vongphakdy, and Alex McFaddin were named the offensive players of the week by Head Coach Jim Phillips as they completely dominated the line of scrimmage. Mitchell Kapalske, Andrew Simon, Stephen Williams, and Joplo Bartu had particularly good games with their downfield blocking. Every time the Bulldog backs broke into the secondary, the physical receivers were there blocking Knight defensive backs to help create big plays. One particular play worth noting was a goal-line stand by the defensive unit, forcing McCallum to turn the ball over on downs on the Bulldog’s one yard line. The next play, the offensive line destroyed Knight defenders and Jeremy Phillips raced 99 yards to take a 21 point lead.
     Defensively, the Bulldogs faced a tough offensive opponent in the McCallum Knights. The Knights used a spread attack to the spread the field to get the ball to their speedy receivers and speedy running backs. The Bulldogs used a bend but don’t break philosophy as the Knights were able to move the ball, but only scored 20-points. Seven of those points came on the last play of the first half, as a Knight receiver broke three tackles and raced to the end zone with five seconds left. Playing well for the Bulldogs were Jerrad Jefferson, Eddie Brown, Josh Poyer, Robert Nicholson, Byron Abbs, Jacob Dodd, Trevor Barry, Scott Thourot, Joplo Bartu, Josh Dorsey, Robert Loewe, Jeremy Phillips, Josh Haynes, Kenney Wendt, Brandon Goebel, and Miller Pierce. Brandon Goebel was named Defensive Player of the Week. Mitchell Kapalske was named Special Teams Player of the week as he continued to be a steady presence in extra point and field goal holds.
     The Bulldogs would like to thank all of the supporters who traveled to College Station Friday night. The Bulldog fans were noticeable in both number and voice. The ‘Dogs have a particularly difficult game this week against the area’s #5 team, Yates Lions. Yates is undefeated on the season and has many players being recruited by Division 1 colleges. The Bulldogs would like to invite all Bulldog fans to fill the stands and drown the Yates supporters in Maroon and White. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. in Katy at Rhodes Stadium, please keep supporting the Bulldogs!

Players of the Week

Jacob Dodd - Offensive Line
Offense

Kennedy Vongphakdy - Offensive Line
Offense

Carlos Portillo - Offensive Line
Offense

David Hunter - Offensive Line
Offense

Alex McFaddin - Offensive Line
Offense

Brandon Goebel
Defense

Mitchell Kapalske
Special Teams