Tonight the Trojans (2-1, 1-0) face off against the Bowie Bulldogs (1-2, 1-0) in potentially their biggest game of the season. Last season, Bowie won 27-24 in a hard-fought matchup, but Anderson’s looking to flip the script when they take the field against the Bulldogs.
Bowie is a solid team but lost many key pieces from a year ago. Their quarterback, Conner Kenyon, graduated, as did their running back Max Clark who steamrolled the Anderson defense for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns on over 30 carries. They do return Carmine Benjamin-Elisarraraz, who had 6 catches for 85 yards and a score against the Trojans and had over 300 yards and 5 touchdowns last season as a whole.
Bowie’s started the season 1-2 with a win over Del Valle and losses to Cedar Ridge and Vista Ridge. They’re a solid team, but figure to be worse than last year’s squad that finished 5-3 in district and snagged the final playoff spot. The Bulldogs are led by junior QB Cruz Tello who’s thrown for 444 yards 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions so far this year. Tello is vulnerable and the Trojan defense is primed to take advantage.
Coming off an incredible defensive performance against Austin High, Anderson will look to repeat that against Bowie, and there’s no reason to think they can’t. Tello turns the ball over more than any quarterback the Trojans have faced, and I think he could be in for a rough showing tonight if Anderson throws the whole playbook at him. Colin Haines jumped at the chance to pick off a John Latham pass and returned it 55 yards to the house last week, and I think the Trojans’ #1 corner could be in for another big week.
One thing the defense will have to account for is Tello’s rushing ability on designed QB runs and scrambles. He’s scored three times on the ground this season, and if the Anderson defense can contain him on the run, they’ll be able to bottle up the Bowie offense and deliver a big win. After losing a 1,000-yard rusher in Clark last year, the Bulldogs leading rusher through 3 games (other than Tello) has just 77 yards, so there’s nowhere to turn if Tello can’t spark the offense.
On the other side of the ball, Anderson’s offense is looking for a bounce-back game after a tough outing against Austin High last Friday. The offense did come alive in the 4th quarter, doing enough to get the victory, but if they want to beat the Bulldogs, they’ll need a complete game effort.
With the lack of time for Brady Gephart (and potentially Max Gerlich) to throw, the quick pass and play-action game are going to be key to a Trojan victory tonight. Anderson needs to do a better job of getting the ball into the hands of Ben Hatcher, who had zero touches last game but was a big factor in the week one win over the Knights. He’s one of the Trojans’ most versatile players with the ability to take the ball out of the backfield, on end-arounds, or through the air.
Ed Small is effective when catching the ball down the field, but with the need to get the ball out quickly, it’ll be tougher to get it to him on longer-developing plays. Having him catch the ball on mid to short yardage routes is probably the best way to go tonight, with deep shots on 2nd and 3rd and short. Tristan Waidelich also had his best game of the season last week and is another solid option for Gephart to hit.
Another way for Anderson to give Gephart room to work is to establish a running game from the first drive. The Trojans need to come out strong and win the “war in the trenches” early. A few big runs at the beginning of the game will go a long way in keeping the Bulldogs honest defensively. They’ll likely be expecting Gephart to use his legs, so having a true running back break a few good plays could make a huge difference tonight.
Overall, the importance of tonight’s game cannot be overstated. A win gets the Trojans that much closer to their first playoff birth in almost a decade, and a loss makes the road a lot harder, with them then likely needing a win over Westlake or Dripping Springs to make it to the postseason. The team should be fired up and has the talent to win this game. Ride the defense and the offense has to do just enough to win. Anderson 21 Bowie 13
