Published: September 05, 2008 01:14 am            

Bulldogs spoil 'Cats opener

MOORE — Edmond Memorial head coach Mark Walker didn’t want his team to overlook anything when they stepped on the field against Southmoore. New school or not, the ‘Dogs took the coach’s words to heart, and did not disappoint.

“We heard them talking about thinking about Westmoore before this game and that got us hyped,” Nelson Medeiros said about the first year Southmoore squad. “We got real excited and our guys did a great job.”

After jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first half, the ‘Dogs came up with plenty of big stops in the second half to hold off a late Southmoore push, and hang for a 14-7 victory in the season opener.

“Our team overall had big plays, all the way around our kids played four quarters of football, we had adversity against us, I don’t know how many times we had 1st-and-20,” Walker said. “But I was proud of our kids, in the past sometimes we would have folded under stuff like that, and our kids made the big plays and we pulled out a win.”

Kendal Thompson helped the SaberCats chisel the ‘Dogs lead late in the third quarter. The sophomore hit Derek Serowski with a 49-yard pass, and later put Southmoore on the board when he hit Kyuann Thompson on a 35-yard TD pass with 41 seconds left in the third.

The SaberCats later threatened to tie things up when they drove deep into Memorial territory twice in the fourth quarter. But Southmoore came up empty both times, due to a pair of interceptions by Medeiros and Adrian Shoecraft.

Memorial was able to hold onto the seven-point lead with the help of Anthony Morales, who rushed nine times for 65 yards in the final five minutes of the game. The senior finished game with 13 carries for 92 yards and one score.

“I knew I wanted the ball in my hands to end this game quick, so I was excited,” Morales said.

Morales put the ‘Dogs on top in the first quarter, when he capped the team’s second drive of the game with a 3-yard TD run with 4:08 left in the opening period.

The senior came up big again on special teams in the second quarter, as he blocked Sam York’s punt near midfield. Kameron Doolittle scooped up the loose ball and scampered 42-yards for the score. Bryce Otto added the kick, giving Memorial a 14-0 halftime lead.

While Memorial shined on both sides of the ball, they struggled with penalties all night long. The ‘Dogs were flagged seven times for 60 yards in the first half, and were hit eight times for 76 yards in the second half.

One key penalty came early in the third quarter when Blake Umberham hit Delias Ealom on a 33-yard pass that would have given the ‘Dogs a first-and-goal. But a penalty negated the play and knocked Memorial well out scoring range.

“The biggest thing I’m proud of our kids, we overcame the adversity and got a ‘W’ tonight,” Walker said.

Umberham looked strong in his first start under center. The junior completed 8-of-18 passes for 92 yards and one interception.

        

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