Published: July 11, 2008 01:06 am            

Dogs live another day

The New Waverly Bulldogs are still going strong after the first day at the 7-on-7 state tournament.

They lost their first two games Thursday to West and Childress, but won the final game in pool play against Marion in the tournament held in College Station.

Later in the first elimination game, New Waverly (8-5) defeated Houston Second Baptist 35-31.

“We were a little slow getting started, but we did well today and we’re in a good spot right now,” New Waverly co-coach Johnnie Hill said. “We have Sir. Horace Saulsberry at receiver, Rhett Bohannon at quarterback and the Watts brothers (Tyren and Kyren) playing running back and receiver. We ended with a good win to finish a successful day.”

New Waverly nearly won Thursday’s first two games, but lost by a single possession in each game. The Bulldogs even tried a combination of tricks in the final play against Childress and nearly pulled out a victory. The Dogs started with a hook-and-ladder play that didn’t work. They then began lateraling the ball all over the field. On the seventh pitch, junior running back Tyren Watts shook three tacklers and ran the ball 40 yards, but inadvertantly stepped out of bounds on the 5-yard line.

There were a few other highlights for the Bulldogs.

Sir. Horace Saulsberry, also known as “Slick,” caught a pair of jump balls in the back of the end zone that caught the attention of a few Texas A&M coaches.

“Right after he caught those passes, the Aggie coaches came over to us and began asking us about him. They wanted to know Slick’s name and what his classification was,” Hill said.

Hill added that J.C. Peters and Dadrian Powell also made plays.

“J.C. made a big defensive stop for us,” Hill said. “Dadrian Powell also got a big interception and nearly took it all the way for a touchdown.”

The Bulldogs continue the elimination round today with a game against Melissa at 8:30 a.m. at the Texas A&M practice field.

“If our defense continues to play well, then we should be OK because our offense can score at will,” Hill said. “Melissa has some short players and all our receivers are over 6 feet tall.”

If the Dogs win their first three games today, then New Waverly will play in the championship game at Kyle Field.

But as Hill pointed out, the Bulldogs have to win the first game first.

        

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