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Moran undefeated after 3 games

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By Kathy Thomson

Moran beat Sidney last Friday by a score of 34-18, and the Bulldogs hope to improve their record to 4-0 tomorrow when they take on the Yellowhammers.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Rotan on Friday, Sept. 20, and head coach John Hughes is making sure his team does not take anything for granted.

“We will travel to Rotan this week and face a 0-3 team that is still very solid on both sides of the ball, so we will have a difficult task ahead of us,” Hughes said. “I keep telling the guys that we must approach everything one game at a time.”

The Bulldogs are currently ranked 24th in 1A Division II after last week’s victory moved them to 3-0 on the year, and sixmanfootball.com has picked them as the favorite in tomorrow’s game.

“From what I have been told, this is the first time in a long time that a Moran football team has started off 3-0,” said Hughes. “The guys came out ready to play last week, and we took advantage of mistakes that Sidney made. We pulled out a huge win over a very tough Sidney team.”

The coach said he was happy with his team.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” he said. “It was a real gut check for us, but the guys made the plays when they needed to. I can’t express how happy I am for these young men with all of the work that they have put in since I arrived back in July.”

Upcoming Schedule

The Bulldogs take on the Yellowhammers this Friday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Rotan and are open the following week.

Moran is scheduled to play Chillicothe at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 in front of a homecoming crowd at Bulldog Stadium.

The varsity team will stay at home to host Three Way to a 7:30 p.m. match-up on Oct. 11.

The ’Dawgs are open on Oct. 18, and start district play in Blackwell on Friday, Oct. 25.

Junior High Football

The junior high Bulldogs lost their first game of the season to Sidney last Thursday, Sept. 12.

They are open this week, and will travel to Strawn for 6:00 p.m. kickoff next Thursday, Sept. 26.

The middle school team will play at home on Oct. 4, taking the field at 5:30 p.m.

Varsity Game 

Moran and Sidney were knotted up at 6-6 at the half, but the Bulldogs came out in the third to open up a 20-point lead and held on for the win.

Moran tallied up 230 yards on the ground and 27 in the air. The Bulldogs turned over one of four fumbles, while recovering four Eagle fumbles and snagging one interception.

Jonas Sotelo led the ’Dawgs with 124 yards rushing on 22 carries including one touchdown. The senior added three additional yards receiving, 21 yards on two kickoff returns, and ran for another 110 yards while converting two fumble recoveries into TDs.

Also lighting up the scoreboard for Moran was Arron Hawley with two carries for 35 yards, including one TD. Hawley made one of five PAT attempts for another two points. The sophomore was also credited with a four-yard reception.

Junior Colby Bell ran seven times for 25 yards and one TD.

Sophomore Lyric Huskey ran for 61 yards on seven carries.

Senior Harley Schafer led the defense with seven tackles, one assist, and a safety.

Also credited with tackles and assists were Huskey with 10, Bell with six, Hawley and Sotelo with five each, Braden Crow with two, and Trey Cox with one. 

Hawley pushed the Eagles back with a seven-yard sack and one pass interception, while Schafer and Huskey each recovered a Sidney fumble.