The No. 22 University of Redlands football team kicked off the
2009 season with an impressive win over East Texas Baptist
University as the Bulldogs tamed the Tigers by a score of 36-3. The
victory adds to the excitement of the 100th season of Bulldog
football, giving Redlands much to celebrate during opening night at
Ted Runner Stadium in front of 1,250 fans.
Despite a shaky start by the Bulldogs, who turned the ball over on
their first two drives, they settled down late in the opening
quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Sean
Quinn (El Paso, TX). Quinn went on to lead the game with 81 yards
rushing on 22 carries. Senior wide receiver Brendan Barkate
(Bakersfield, CA) ran the two-point conversion into the end zone to
put the Bulldogs up by five points.
From that point on, Redlands never looked back, squelching any
chances for the Tigers to avenge last week's loss to the
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.
During the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored on every drive
except one. Barkate initiated the offensive explosion when he
connected with senior quarterback Dan Selway (Villa Park, CA) on a
seven-yard pass into the end zone early in the period.
Less than five minutes later, Selway found senior wide receiver
Evan Reuter (Cameron Park, CA) for a five-yard score. The Tigers
again fell victim to the two-point conversion as Barkate cruised
past the goal line for the third time in the half.
With a 20-point lead, junior kicker Joe MacMillan (Pasadena, CA)
connected on a 20-yard field goal to finish out the second
quarter.
During the third quarter, Redlands continued to control the game
but faced a tighter defense as the Bulldogs' only score came
on a well-struck 45-yard field goal by MacMillan.
Holding a 29-point advantage, Head Coach Mike Maynard utilized a
variety of ball-carriers and receivers as well as senior
quarterback Steve Smith (Lake Oswego, OR). He went 2-for-2 for 21
yards and handed the ball off to senior running back Daniel Allen
(Felton, CA) for a one-yard touchdown with 8:25 to go in the game.
On the night, Selway racked up 239 yards passing with 20
completions on 35 attempts.
Throughout the game, the Redlands defense remained stingy, allowing
ETBU's three quarterbacks to combine for just five catches
and 79 yards of total offense. Leading the Bulldogs, sophomore
linebacker Ian Sluss (Vista, CA) racked up five total tackles,
including a major hit for a loss of 14 yards. Junior defensive
back Mike Nicolini (Novato, CA) also added five tackles
and tallied 2.5 for a loss of 10 yards.
Redlands (1-0) heads to Whitworth University (WA) next week for an
in-region game against the Pirates at 1 p.m. ETBU travels to Sul
Ross State for its opening conference game.
