Bulldogs set for re-match with Bucks

Image
  • Ira’s Asher Fowlkes (center) tried to get free from a double-team block from Holden Rios (left) and Carter Roberson during practice at Bulldog Stadium Wednesday. The Bulldogs will take on White Deer in the area playoffs at Wildcat Stadium in Littlefield, with kick-off set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
    Ira’s Asher Fowlkes (center) tried to get free from a double-team block from Holden Rios (left) and Carter Roberson during practice at Bulldog Stadium Wednesday. The Bulldogs will take on White Deer in the area playoffs at Wildcat Stadium in Littlefield, with kick-off set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Body

The stage is set for a clash between two of the state’s top six-man football teams.
The Ira Bulldogs will take on the White Deer Bucks at Wildcat Field in Littlefield Friday.
Both teams have spent the entire 2019 season ranked by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. White Deer finished the year ranked No. 6 and Ira comes in to the game as the No. 5 team in the state, setting up a match-up with major late-round playoff implications.
Ira head coach Toby Goodwin said his team is fired up for the opportunity and is ready for Friday.
“We’re excited,” he said. “It’s not that we’ve been playing slouches so we are prepared for that. It’s fun. The kids are excited. They don’t know it, but a long time from now, they are going to realize how special this memory is.”
The Bucks were ranked as high as No. 3 this season before losses to Borden County and McLean.
They are led by the tandem of quarterback Graysen Freeman and tight end and defensive end Mason Mooney. The pair led the Bucks to a 9-3 record and a second place finish in 1-1A Division 1.
John Perriman and Karson Ketchum handle the majority of the running duties out of the backfield. Perriman is also the Bucks’ lead linebacker. Drake Damron and Mooney both man the end positions for the Bucks and Hunter Warminski and Ketchum play in the defensive backfield.
Goodwin said his team needs to play with energy and to control the momentum in order to knock off the Bucks.
“This time of the year, nobody is a slouch. We all got here for a reason,” he said. “The past few games, we have started really well, but struggled to close them and that is something we need to be able to do. We need to keep the mistakes to a minimum because these guys feed off momentum. We can’t give it to them.”
Ira will be looking to do what they could not in 2018: Beat the Bucks in the area playoffs.
Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Littlefield.