Bulldogs to face ranked Mustangs this Friday night

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldog football team kicks off its regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the Benjamin Mustangs at Benjamin’s Ben Grill Field.

“Benjamin is going to be pretty good from what I’ve seen on film,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “They’re ranked in the top 20 in the state, so that will add a little bit of excitement to our preparations.”

The Bulldogs completed their preseason last Friday with a three-team scrimmage at Gustine.

“It went really well,” Hughes said. “We scored about six touchdowns and gave up two or three. The guys did real well. There toward the end, we kind of ran out of gas, but I’m certainly proud of them.”

Despite having just six players available, Hughes said the Bulldogs have shown they can handle multiple roles on the team.

“I think everyone’s  pretty much well established in what we’re going to do,” he said. “I’m going to look toward my senior (Aaren Hawley) for a lot of leadership. I’m asking all these young guys to step up and contribute a lot. It’s going to be a tough year, but it’s going to be a very interesting year.”

Hughes is looking for his players to make the step from participating in controlled scrimmages to competing in games.

“It’s going to come down to fine-tuning,” he said. “There are still some things we need to get better on. We just continue to improve each week. That’s all I can ask. As long as we stay injury-free, we’ll be okay.”

Volleyball Game

The Moran Lady Bulldogs dropped a tough five-set match Saturday at home to Knox City, losing 25-12, 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 9-15.

“We played really hard, “Lady Bulldogs coach Jo Hise said. “It was difficult to finish the points.”

In the second set, Johnnie Hise  and Emily Murk led Moran’s scoring with six points each. In the third set, Hannah Rogers, Harmony Slaughter, and Murk led the scoring.