Playoff-tested Burnet sends Hornets home Posted On: Saturday, Nov. 14 2009 05:52 AM By Alex Byington
Killeen Daily Herald

COPPERAS COVE – After a six-year absence from the playoffs, Gatesville was eager to prove itself a contender.

But against Burnet, which has been in the playoffs nine times in the last decade, the Hornets' postseason inexperience proved to be its undoing as the savvy Bulldogs bowled over Gatesville 38-7 in their Class 3A Division I bi-district playoff game Friday at Bulldawg Stadium in Copperas Cove.

"We were really excited and we knew it was going to be a good game, and we came out and tried as hard as we could. It just didn't happen," said Gatesville senior receiver Dominique Moore, who led the team with 656 yards receiving this season.

Despite outperforming Burnet on paper, compiling 439 yards on 81 offensive plays – including 376 yards through the air from junior quarterback Jake Truss – the Hornets struggled when it mattered most.

"On short-yardage, we struggled there tonight, but once again, not on the kids' effort, it's just something we're going to have to look at in the offseason and get better in that phase of the game," Cooper said of his team's inability to move the ball on fourth down. "... Obviously that's a big down, and as a coaching staff we have to go back and re-evaluate what we've done in that situation and find a way to get it done on fourth (down)."

Finishing 1-for-7 on fourth down opportunities, Gatesville's high-powered offense failed to convert against a stout Burnet defense, which volleyed its bend-but-don't-break philosophy into a regional meeting with Burkburnett at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Mineral Wells.

"We stopped them several times on fourth down that were big, big plays for us and the defense played lights-out and I just can't say enough about our defensive unit tonight," said Burnet coach Doyle Walker.

Powered by a strong game from undersized senior tailback Jathan Craig, who averaged a first down per attempt rushing for 191 yards on 19 carries and two second-half touchdowns, the Bulldogs felt right at home in Cove's Bulldawg Stadium.

"We knew we were going to have to run the ball and Jathan took it upon his shoulders to do that very thing tonight and kudos to him," Walker said. "He sure played a heck of a ball game."

After both teams struggled to punch it in the endzone for most of the first half, all it took was one play to get things rolling.

Able to move the ball offensively, and limiting Burnet to just three first downs in the first half, Gatesville appeared on the verge of breaking loose despite three straight turnovers-on-downs and a punt on its first four possessions after Truss hit Nardi Meyers on a screen route that the receiver took 66 yards for the first score of the game, as Gatesville jumped on the board first, 7-0, with 1:11 remaining before halftime.

But Burnet answered when Quade Stubblefield caught the ensuing kickoff at the 10-yard line then handed it to Josh Barrera on a reverse to the right. Barrera then broke one tackle before taking it 90 yards for the tying score 15 seconds later.

"We tell our team that great players make great plays and that's what happened tonight with Josh Barrera returning the kickoff and going to the house with it for a touchdown – that was the spark that we needed," Walker said of the play.

Gatesville's special team woes continued on the following kickoff as the Hornets allowed a high-arching kick to bounce at the 23-yard line, where Stubblefield leapt into the air for what amounted to a 37-yard onside kick by Bulldogs kicker Tyler Clark.

Four plays later, Clark drilled a 32-yard field goal as Burnet took its first lead with 16 seconds remaining before halftime as the Bulldogs scored 10 points in 55 seconds to enter the break 10-7.

"We had back-to-back miscues at a major (point) in the game, and it is what it is – it allowed them take some momentum into halftime, and ... kind of put us behind the 8-ball," Cooper said.

With momentum on their side, Burnet continued its offensive attack as Craig opened the second half with a 53-yard run on the first play and quarterback Dillon Chafin punched it in on a 2-yard run to jump ahead 17-7 less then two minutes into the quarter.

The Bulldogs piled it on from there, scoring on three of their next five possessions.

– including two touchdowns from Craig (4 and 28), and a 45-yard pass from Chafin to Brandon Jacque.

Contact Alex Byington at alexb@kdhnews.com or at (254) 501-7566.