The 2023 Home Opener at Eagle Stadium in Mont Belvieu featured your La Porte Bulldogs against the Alief Elsik Rams. The Bulldog faithful made their way up Highway 99 to see their squad fight their second 6-A school this season.
The game opened with a Rams surprise onside kick placing them at ideal field position. The La Porte defense did not flinch; defensive lineman Gavin McEvoy's quarterback rush forced the Rams to a three-and-out.
La Porte started on their own 17 yard line and a fake reverse had tailback, Tyrese Barnes, all the way to midfield. Two snaps later, Quarterback Luis Rodriguez rolled out, tucked the ball, and ran to the Rams red zone. A tough interior run by Ricky Sandolph put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first making it 7-0.
The Rams offense found little room between the tackles with D-Lineman Teddy Charlery and Eurie Bright clogging the middle to put another Elsik punt formation on the field. Explosive runs brought the Bulldogs to the redzone for an unsuccessful fieldgoal attempt. Possession exchanged twice before Elsik scored through the air on a fade ball in the corner of the endzone tying the game at 7 all. On the very next possession the La Porte offense marched down and scored with a huge gain by Ricky Sandolph. With the Bulldogs up a score, Elsik peppered the secondary, but were unsuccessful. With a few seconds left in the first half, Alief lined up for a fieldgoal attempt to steal points before the buzzer. Cornerback Jaylon Fisher flashed across the line to block the kick keeping the score 14-7.
The second half presented great defensive plays from both teams. Punts and fumbles ensued placing La Porte on their own 25 yard line. An eight-play drive was capped off with a 10-yard strike by Sandolph. Elsik had few opportunities to respond due to a Luke Mora forced fumble. The runningbacks put La Porte in great position. Pouring onto the Elsik woes was a touchdown run by Tyrese Barnes.
The fourth quarter didn't get much better for Elsik when a desperate attempt failed on fourth down turning the ball over. On the very next play, Barnes zigzagged for 50 yards up the La Porte sideline to make a comfortable 35 to 7 lead. The Bulldogs finished the game with 479 yards of total offense and had two 200 yard rushers Ricky Sandolph and Tyrese Barnes. La Porte starts district play next week on Thursday September 7th against Goose Creek Memorial. The game will be held at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown, Texas.
