Illness impacts Bulldog game

By Sam Waller

A rough week led to a rough night for the Moran Bulldogs, who lost 56-0 to the Blanket Tigers on Friday, Sept. 23.

The Bulldogs return home to host Rochelle at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

At Blanket, the Bulldogs were held to 73 total yards after battling sickness during the week.

“Half my team was out sick, and we never could really practice,” Bulldogs coach John Hughes said. “Connor Hail was out the first part of the week, Caleb York was out the middle part of the week, and Tyler Waddell, who didn’t play, was out pretty much all week. We just never had an opportunity to get any practice in.”

Hughes said the situation was similar to a year ago when Moran cancelled a game because too many players were sick.

“We didn’t have to cancel, and the guys played hard from start to finish, which was all I could ask,” he said.

Ellis Hise was 8 of 23 passing for 78 yards. York caught three passes for 24 yards and Cotten Campbell caught three for 16. Zech Henderson produced Moran’s longest gain of the night with a 26-yard reception, and Hail caught one pass for 12 yards.

Hail was the leading rusher with 21 yards on eight carries, but the Bulldogs finished with negative yards rushing as a team for the second time this season.

York led the defense with five total tackles and a fumble recovery, while Hise was in on four stops and broke up a pass. Ethan Boykin and Hail each had three tackles, Campbell had two, and Henderson had one.

Boykin blocked two conversion kicks.

Hughes said the important thing was getting on the field to help the Bulldogs continue preparing for district play.

“We struggled, but we were able to get the game in,” he said. “We’re feeling a whole lot better this week.”

Moran faces another strong test in state-ranked Rochelle (4-1), which beat Evant 66-19 last week.

Junior High

Moran’s junior high team lost 49-0 in a game that ended at halftime.

“We’re also dealing with a few injuries with the junior high group right now,” said the coach.