MEDFORD – The Lynn English Bulldogs (4-4) defeated the Medford Mustangs (2-6) on Thursday evening at Hormel Stadium, 8-0.
An explosive defensive line and a productive run game were the difference-makers, and the Lynn English team that began the season 0-4 has climbed all the way back to .500.
Medford sent the opening kickoff out of bounds and the Bulldogs went to work. Highlights of English’s opening drive were a 21-yard catch by Janathan Andrades who juked a defender to the turf, and quarterback Edwin Castro taking it himself to convert on fourth down.
A penalty set the Bulldogs back, and on another fourth down, they failed to convert. On defense, English’s Mack Peters piled through the line to make a tackle for a loss, and the dynamic duo of Mitchell Purter and Jarvin Simon made a stop on a wide receiver screen to set the Mustangs back.
The first quarter ended scoreless.
Simon rushed for an English touchdown with 8:59 remaining in the second quarter – shrugging off a Mustang and entering the endzone standing up. Castro sneaked through the middle of the defensive line to add two more and the Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
After a Mustang player had trouble gathering the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs swarmed him – resulting in Medford starting its possession from its own 15-yard line.
After two Mustang first downs, Peters silenced the home crowd with a monstrous sack, moving Medford back three yards. On third and long, Julius Mondesir of the Bulldogs barrelled his way through blue jerseys and smashed a Mustang to the ground – followed by an enthusiastic celebration as his efforts forced a Medford punt.
On English’s next drive, the Bulldogs reached the midfield logo after Castro took a direct snap and pushed his blockers forward for extra yardage. Three failed plays and an English delay of game penalty later, the Bulldogs returned the favor with a punt of their own.
Simon’s touchdown and Castro’s two-point conversion were the half’s only points. English led at the break, 8-0. Castro’s effective rungame and English making timely stops were the difference-makers.
On the Mustang’s first drive of the second half, Medford quarterback Jack Lombardo bombed the ball down the right sideline. Lionel Rivera of the Bulldogs was there to get his hands on the pass – forcing a Medford punt.
Castro lobbed the ball up to English tight end Mitchell Purter who – in double coverage – leaped to come down with the ball for a gain of 33 yards. Purter timed the catch perfectly, using his height and strength to haul in the catch.
The Bulldogs’ rungame got them down to the Medford 22-yard line, but English turned it over with Castro’s bomb towards the right endzone getting intercepted by Stevens Exateur who extended, rolled, and protected the ball for Medford. Two big gains through the air for the Mustangs and, just like that, Medford entered English territory.
While being blocked, English’s Orlando Quintana grabbed a Mustang jersey, kept moving, and made a pivotal tackle for a loss of two yards. The Bulldog defense stood strong and Medford turned it over on downs after an incompletion.
The third quarter ended with English still clinging on to its 8-0 cushion.
Castro made a nice play in the pocket to start the fourth, looking left before pivoting and running to the right for a gain of five yards. He followed it with a first down run of seven yards.
Play after play, English ran as much time as it could to dwindle the clock down. After three English penalties, the Bulldogs were faced with a third and long. Castro threw a bomb to Purter who landed just a yard in front of the first down marker. On the next play, English picked up the first down on the ground.
“They’ve learned how to grind it out,” English Head Coach Anthony LaFratta said. “Our guys continued to fight, and that’s the biggest difference.”
From the start, Castro was effectively scanning the field before making a decision to run left, right, or down the middle. His burst with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter got the Bulldogs to the redzone.
English got backed up and despite coming up empty on its drive, the possession took up nearly nine minutes of the fourth quarter. Medford needed eight points with 3:18 remaining.
A 34-yard completion got the Mustangs off to a good start in their comeback bid, but another explosive sack from Mondesir halted the momentum. Both of Lombardo’s next two passes were swatted down, and a swarm of Bulldogs sacked him on fourth down to put the game on ice.
English took a knee and the clock ran out on the host Mustangs. After English’s winless start through four weeks, the Bulldogs have flipped the switch and now stand at 4-4.
“I think it’s just confidence right now. Our guys feel like we can play with teams. At first, when the season started, we weren’t in that mindset,” LaFratta said.
