Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
Three weeks after the start of the 2016 football season, the Alhambra Bulldogs finally got into the win column.
There were positive signs, but after last week’s loss which could’ve been a win, no one is scoffing at the 15-14 win by the Bulldogs over Washington-Fremont on Sept. 9.
After stumbling on offense for two weeks the clouds have parted and we’re starting to see some signs of confidence from the offense.
One of the most notable was the change in demeanor from quarterback Daymyn Blalock. The senior was thrust into a starting role when the season started, and he struggled. But he took some gambles against the Huskies and they paid off.
Blalock was far from perfect, and surely he and Head Coach Alan Hern will be looking at the tape to iron out some wrinkles, but he looked like a different player from opening day.
After a lackluster first drive of the night, the Bulldogs marched 81 yards down the field on their second drive.
Blalock had completions of eight, 12 and 37 yards to receivers Henry Turner, Jeremy Abraham and Trent Greene. The long bomb to Greene put the Bulldogs in the redzone, and although the drive stalled on 4th and goal at the two-yard line, it was still a positive.
Neither side could make an impact in the first half. With the game turning into a battle of field position, the Bulldog defensive unit imposed themselves on the run-heavy attack from the Huskies. The only blip on an otherwise solid half was a 16-yard run from junior Tyler Tosh. But even then, the Huskies didn’t make anything happen from the big gain.
Coming out of the half, the Huskies struck first. Washington drove down the field in only 2:41. Junior quarterback Robbie Muniz hit El-Joshua Allen for 17 yards to set up a pair of completions to leading receiver Jaylen Edmonds. The first put the Huskies at the 26-yard line, the second was a 26-yard touchdown pass.
Unintimidated, the Bulldogs came back and took advantage of good field position to answer back. Blalock connected on a slant pattern with senior captain Spencer Schulhauser, and allowed his receiver to do the rest. Schulhauser broke four tackles before rumbling into the end zone from 49 yards out. His score gave the Bulldogs their first lead at any point this season with 8:09 on the clock in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs shutdown the Huskies on their next possession and forced a punt before coming back to score once more.
It only took five plays for the Bulldogs to double their lead. A couple of nice gains from running back Daniel Boyd set up another big play from Blalock. Once again he connected with Greene, this time dropping a perfect pass into the hands of the streaking junior receiver and leading him right into the end zone. Alhambra completed the two-point conversion, which would be very important later on in the game.
The conversion was important because the Huskies didn’t bow out. The Huskies matched down the field on a drive that took 13 plays and covered 65 yards to score. A 14-yard gain by senior Patrick Alexander set up Muniz to connect with Edmonds again from 33-yards out. But even though the Huskies converted the two-point try, they were still down a point, and needed to get the ball back again. They got another shot with 3:34 on the clock, but Alhambra junior linebacker Zach Schuler made a big fumble recovery to ice the ball game for the Bulldogs and allow them to line up in the victory formation for the first time this season.
