After a relentless battle against the Pleasant Valley Vikings, the Tracy High Bulldogs ultimately fell short, with a final score of 37-25. The coaches and players were disappointed with how the game turned out but continued fighting in the Bulldog spirit until the very end.
Elijah Castanon, a key player of the game, emphasized the tough place that the Bulldogs put themselves in during the first half of the game.
“We let them get away from us fast,” Castanon said, “It’s hard to come back from that.”
Pleasant Valley quickly gained momentum by scoring a shocking first touchdown within the first few minutes of the game. They continued to push as the Bulldogs were gaining their footing, leaving the score at 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Castanon was able to intercept a pass from the Vikings in the second quarter, but the energy was immediately brought back down after a quick turnover back to Pleasant Valley.
Once the offense regained composure, Juan Godoy found David Goularte for an 80-yard touchdown pass with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
The crowd was fired up and supporting the Bulldogs as they attempted to claw their way back into the game.
With only two minutes left in the first half, Godoy found Goularte once again for a 30-yard touchdown pass leaving them trailing 24-12 at the half.
According to Goularte, the team was built confidence going into the second half.
“Going into halftime when they missed a field goal and we were only down two touchdowns. That was when I felt like we had the most momentum,” Goularte said.
Sadly, this momentum did not carry through to the beginning of the second half as the Bulldogs fumbled on the first play leading to a four-yard touchdown from the Vikings.
In the last moments of the third quarter, Pleasant Valley snuck in another touchdown making the score 37-12.
Even though the Bulldogs were in a tough situation, they were able to keep up their morale and push through until the final minutes of the game.
The Bulldogs started off the fourth quarter strong with a fumble recovery that brought some momentum back to the team. The sidelines had reawakened with teammates rallying behind each other as time was running out.
Godoy was able to find Elijah Gutierrez for a 10-yard touchdown pass into the end-zone that left the score 37-18 with close to eight minutes left in the game.
After an interception from Josh Verduzco, the Bulldog offense was able to jump back into action in the last few minutes.
Goularte emphasized that the Bulldogs were not going to go down without a fight.
“At the end it felt good to show them that we weren’t quitting and we were still going to play the whole game,” Goularte said.
Soon after, Godoy found Goularte for the Bulldogs’ final touchdown of the game, coming to the final score at 37-25.
The team’s starting defensive lineman, Lucky Tupouata emphasized that this game was just one of many and they will come back even stronger in the following weeks.
“The score is what the score is. They were a better team today, but we will come back next week,” Tupouta said.
The Bulldogs continue to keep their heads up as the official league season starts Oct. 4 against Edison.
