BULLDOG DEFENSE STUNS FRIARS

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By Robert Balajadia

Calvin Muna of the Bulldogs avoids a tackle. (photo by Jose Perez)

Ever since beating the FD Friars in the regular season, the once 0-4 Okkodo Bulldogs have heard their win was a fluke and were not given the respect they felt they deserved. After beating the Friars 6-0 in the opening round of the playoffs Saturday night, the Bulldogs are sure to have earned a bounty of respect, and some.

Bulldogs’ Defensive MVP Justin Santos had an MVP-type game by recording eight tackles and half a sack to lead his team. The Bulldog defense has been disruptive of late and their defense dictated the flow of the game, just as Santos had hoped.

“Last win was no fluke and hard work pays off. I kept telling my team to not put our head down because, as soon as you do, there goes your intensity and our fire. If they make mistakes, it’s fine with me, just turn it around and make a bigger play,” stated Santos on his teams defense in pressure situations.

McDonald’s player of the game: Bulldogs linebacker Justin Santos

Bulldogs’ defensive end Garren Reyes scooped up a miss-handled toss play from All-Island first team quarterback Tyler Okiyama to Friars running back Zavier Damian early in the second quarter for a 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown, proving to be the games only score. Damian would not been seen after that play until late in the fourth quarter after sitting out with a shoulder injury.

“The ball just bounced into my hands,” said Reyes on the fumble return. “Our coaches always tell us to be humble and I really wasn’t expecting the fumble.”

The Bulldog defense did not let up in the second half as they forced the Friars into two fumbles, both recovered by Okkodo’s Rodney Tomagan, that kept the Friar offense behind the 50-yard line for most of the third quarter.

Okiyama struggled early, but began to find a groove early in the fourth quarter. Okiyama hit his receivers Bryton Cepeda and Ricky Brown for 15 combined yards to put the Friars in red zone for the first time in the second half.

Santos repeatedly shouted to his defense “everything you’ve got” on numerous defensive stands, proving his team was responding to his leadership.

Calvin Muna of the Bulldogs is stopped by Friars’ Roy Taimanglo. (photo by Jose Perez)

Okiyama then tried to lob a pass over the Bulldog defense to Cepeda, but All-Island first team cornerback Calvin Muna cut off the pass and picked off Okiyama in the end zone. The turnover allowed the Bulldogs to shave minutes off the fourth quarter before handing the ball back to the Friars with a little over two-minutes left in the game and over 60 yards of ground to go.

“My coaches told me to cheat more on the other side and I just listened to my coaches,” stated Muna on the big interception. “We came out and we’re here to prove to everyone our last win wasn’t a fluke.”

Tyler completed his first pas to Brown for six yards, but was sacked on the very next play by Santos and teammate Matthew Jones. Okiyama could not find a target on third down and had his final pass of the season broken up by Dylan Aguon.

Okkodo lined up in victory formation and took a knee to officially end what appeared to be a promising year for the Friars, who began the season 4-0 before suffering their first loss to the Bulldogs in the regular season.

Bulldogs defensive end Garren Reyes scored on a 40-yard fumble return.

Bulldogs Calvin Muna came up with a big red zone interception.

Despite being tagged for 11 penalties that translated to 85 yards of free fielding, the Okkodo defense came up big when it mattered most.

“Just as long as our defense keeps it together and our offense holds it together, we can make it to the championship, and I hope we make it that far. Since our defense won the game, everyone knows Okkodo’s defense is probably number one on Island. Our offense just needs to take their mistakes and turn it into better plays. We have to score on offense and defense, not just defense,” stated Santos.

Muna led the team in rushing with 14 carries for 65 yards. The longest run of the game for FD came from Stefan Taitano for 22 yards, which made him the teams leading runner.

Santos and the “Nasty Bulldogs” will take on the Sanchez Sharks next weekend for a shot at the Championship game.

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Bulldogs’ Rodney Tomagan avoids a tackle for a gain of about 6 yards. (photo by Jose Perez)

Bulldogs’ Breinard Cristobal is stopped behind the line of scrimmage. (photo by Jose Perez)

After getting the first down, Reynold Rokop of the Friars is stopped by the Bulldogs back field. (photo by Jose Perez)

A missed calculated pass to Nicolas Aglubat of the Friars was almost intercepted by the Bulldogs’ Dylan Aguon. (photo by Jose Perez)

Friars quarterback Tyler Okiyama taking snaps under center. (photo by Jose Perez)

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