Greyhounds run all over Bulldogs

WELSH – Iota’s road woes are far from over.
The Bulldogs would not turn the ball over once, a surprising feat considering another rain storm moved through the Welsh area during the day. But, it would also never really get going either, that was Iota coach Josh Andrus’ biggest problem with Thursday’s outcome.
“We'd make a good play, they'd turn it up and we didn't,” he said. "We settled for one good run and not work to get better or work to fight back.
"Basically, that's what I told them. We had a good play and they turned up (the intensity on us) and we didn't (answer)."
Because of that, Iota fell to 1-3 and Welsh improved to 4-0 in a lopsided 49-6 contest.
The first half and game belonged the Greyhounds and it began with the opening kickoff when Cade Iguess took it 63 yards to the house. Trevor Lopez tacked on the extra point.
It was from that moment that Welsh didn’t look back.
In fact, the Greyhounds would score twice in the half on a kickoff return. They would do it a second time in the second quarter. That time, it was Da’ren Zeno from 76 yards out. Again, Lopez would tack on the extra point.
Without those two kickoff returns, the Dogs may have been looking at a different game, but, as Andrus points out, Iota seemingly shot itself in the foot not with turnovers but by coming out flat.
“We played tentative, real tentative the whole game, whether it was on kickoff, defense or offense,” he said. "This is probably one of our worst starts (all season). We were dead. They didn't do anything new, we knew exactly what they were doing, we just didn't (respond)."
In the midst of the two kickoff return touchdowns, Welsh would score two more times, both in the first quarter. First, it would be Zach Hayes connecting with Zeno for a 9-yard touchdown grab. Second it would be Pearse Migl running in from a yard out. Both would be capped with a Lopez kick.
Iota would score once in that first half, its only score of the game. In perhaps its most sustained drive, the Bulldogs would start with possession at their own 35-yard line with three-and-a-half minutes left in the first. Iota would keep possession through 9:12 left in the second quarter when Kameron Aucoin connected with Hunter Andrus from 14 yards out.
The drive also featured a scary moment for Iota fans when Bliss Deshazo would take a big hit after a 12-yard gain on the ground. Luckily, while the outcome looked terrible, Andrus explained that Deshazo was alert when he was taken off the field.
“He was moving and knew everything (on the field),” he said.
Andrus explained that from his vantage point it appeared to be a helmet-to-helmet hit. No flag was thrown on the play.
That one inspired drive would fall to the wayside when the Bulldogs would immediately allow Zeno’s kickoff return touchdown.
And, despite getting the ball first in the second half, Iota seemed still too far gone, a feeling Welsh would capitalize on.
The Greyhounds would score three more times in the game, once with the starters in and twice with the younger Hounds in the game. And, all three of the scores would come on gains of 20 yards or more.
In the early to mid-third quarter, Hayes would use his feet to give Welsh another touchdown, rushing in from 22 yards out.
Then, when sophomore running back Reggie Jackson Jr. entered the game, he made his presence known scoring in the late third quarter on a 20-yard run and again in the early fourth quarter from Welsh 5-yard line. Lopez would tack on three more extra points. He would go a perfect seven-for-seven on extra point attempts.
In the case of Jackson’s 95-yard touchdown run, it was a case of many things going wrong in rapid succession. First, a semi-promising drive in the fourth quarter would be stuffed when Aucoin’s pitch to Brett Clay would be completed at the Welsh 5-yard line on a fourth down play right on the white line. But despite staying in bounds, the pass would be a yard or two short of the first down marker. Welsh would score on its first play from the 5-yard scrimmage line seconds later.
Seemingly, the epitome of the Dogs’ game Thursday night. Iota would finish the night with 54 plays on offense and 245 yards. Conversely, their opponents had only 40 plays for 440 yards, giving Welsh a more than two-to-one yards per play advantage on the night.
"We have to get tougher," said Andrus. "(Welsh) was tougher than us tonight."
Most of those yards, for both teams came on the ground, and it’s also where the biggest difference lies. Where Iota and Welsh would both pass for only about 50 yards each – 50 and 52, respectively – Iota would only end up with 195 yards on the ground on 40 total carries, Welsh had 388 on 10 less carries.
Kaleb Guillory would again get the bulk of the carries for Iota on the ground. His night would end with 21 carries for 113 yards. Ledet’s late game plays would net him eight carries for 80 yards. Rounding out the positive gainers were Deshazo (one carry for 12 yards) and Alex Frey (one carry for 6 yards).
Welsh continued to spread the ball around and, thanks in large part to his 95-yard touchdown run, Jackson would end the night as the Greyhounds leading rusher. He had four rushes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Hayes’ eight carries for 90 yards and Migl’s three carries for 13 yards rounded out the Hounds’ touchdown runners. Meanwhile, Charlie Watkins had 10 carries for 132 yards also for Welsh.
In the air, Aucoin finished his night with 50 yards and a touchdown after going 5-for-14. Hayes matched with 52 yards and a touchdown, going 5-for-10.
Hunter Andrus had that lone touchdown grab and finished with only that one 14-yard reception. Clay would add an 8-yard reception and Cade Covalt would catch the remaining three completions for 28 yards.
Zeno’s touchdown catch was one of his three receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. Migl added a 6-yard reception and Austin Benoit had a 4-yard catch.