Bulldogs Fall to Smithville in District Finals

The Kearney Bulldogs traveled to Smithville for the Class 4, District 8 championship game on Friday. This was the second matchup for the two teams this year.

Despite everything 2020 threw at them, the Bulldogs finished 2nd in DISTRICT 8

In the first meeting, the Kearney Bulldogs struggled against a solid Smithville defense all evening but still managed a 10-7 halftime lead. The Warriors rolled up 21 points as their defense held Kearney scoreless in the second half for the 28-10 victory.

In the second meeting, the Bulldogs struggled once again, but this time they were not able to contain the explosive Smithville offense. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs were not able to click during their offensive possessions.

Smithville came out strong offensively as quarterback Andrew Hedgecorth threw three passing touchdowns, which sent the Warriors into the half with a commanding 28-0 lead.

At first, the Bulldogs seemed to be successfully utilizing the bend but don’t break defensive philosophy as Smithville’s opening possession took half of the first quarter. This was very similar to the opening of the Winnetonka game of last week. With 6:35 left in the first quarter, Smithville’s Hayden Sigg scored on a 5-yard rushing touchdown for the first Smithville score.

As the Bulldogs began their first offensive possession, they just couldn’t seem to get rolling and were forced to give the ball back to Smithville after a quick three-and-out. The Bulldogs would struggle offensively and would be held to only 5 first downs through the entire game.

The Smithville Warriors were strong offensively and went into the half leading 28-0 after Hedgecorth was able to connect with Samuel Calvert on an 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:19 left in second quarter.

The Warriors defense was relentless the entire evening. They were able to hold the Bulldogs to a total 120 yards of total offense and dominated the time of possession 34:29 - 12:36. This only allowed the Bulldogs to run 28 offensive plays compared to the 51 run by Smithville.

At the end of the evening, the Bulldogs had fallen to Smithville 43-0.

Despite the final score of the championship game, the Bulldogs fought through challenges and obstacles that demonstrated the strength and passion of the team. The season began with serious doubts as to whether the team would even be able to play. As the year progressed, this shadow of doubt hovered over the team every week. Numerous players were individually impacted and the team was constantly forced into last minute schedule changes, including a last minute trip to south Missouri and two games that were completely removed from the schedule.

The laundry list of items which brought adversity to this team was exhaustive. Despite everything 2020 threw at them, the Kearney Bulldogs climbed to a second place finish in District 8.

KPGZ Sports – Jim Dickerson contributed to this story