Bulldogs score 17-6 win
Ida Baker set out Friday night to get back on track, thanks to its defense.
The Bulldogs (2-3) snapped a two-game losing streak, rallying for a 17-6 victory at Riverdale.
“I thought it was a great team win,” Bulldogs coach Brian Conn said. “It wasn’t always pretty, but the defense made some big plays, some turnovers, and kept them out of the end zone.”
Baker’s defense provided time for the offense to find an crack in the Riverdale D.
The Bulldogs shook off a slow start to win behind the passing combination of Jordan Diggs and Rasheed Golden. The pair connected on touchdowns of 63 and 15 yards as Baker rallied from a 6-3 halftime deficit.
“It took us a little bit to figure out how to get it to ‘Sheed,” Conn said. “He comes through when we need him.”
Golden finished the night with five receptions for 113 yards and the two scores. Diggs had 146 yards passing.
Golden’s 63-yard touchdown catch and run of gave Baker its first lead at 10-6 in the third quarter. Diggs and Golden hooked up again in the fourth period, providing what might have been an important cushion.
Riverdale put on a late, desperate drive in the final moments that reached the Baker 5 before the Bulldogs held on downs.
Baker took advantage of Raiders trouble holding onto the football – six fumbles, losing three.
“We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Raiders coach Damon Jones said. “We can’t sustain drives. We need guys to make plays and they’re not making them.”
Daniel Ulmer put Riverdale up 6-0 with a 15-yard quarterback keeper.
Riverdale’s defense came up big twice in the second quarter. The Raiders stopped Baker at the 1-yard line. When the Bulldogs recovered a fumble two plays later at the 14, Riverdale limited them to David Montoya’s 28-yard field goal.
Montoya missed a 43-yard kick on the last play of the half.
Riverdale turned back a Baker drive early in the fourth when Andres Bartley sacked Diggs for a 10-yard loss. However, Luke Endsley punted the Raiders into a hole that set up the second Diggs-to-Golden connection.
Brennan Williams had 62 of his 76 yards rushing in the second half for the Bulldogs.
“We got the runs when we needed them,” Conn said. Still, “the running game has to improve a ton if we’re going to play in the playoffs. We made the plays when we needed to.”
The road to the playoffs resumes next week then the Bulldogs return to District 6A-10 play at home against rival Cape Coral. Both teams enter that contest 0-1 in the district. Neither can afford to fall farther behind.