SINTON — Who let the dogs out? Although the mascots for both Lyford and Yoakum were both Bulldogs, that’s where the similarities ended as their football styles of play were quite different.
With a tough ground and pound attack, the Yoakum Bulldogs (8-4) rushed for 283 yards and dominated Lyford 41-14 in a Class 3A Division I area-round playoff contest at Sinton High School on Friday.
The size and speed of Yoakum’s Henry Enoch appeared to be a bit too much for Lyford, but it was the defense that stepped up for Yoakum early on.
The Yoakum secondary didn’t allow Lyford’s receivers to win their battles and develop a rhythm early on in the first half.
Lyford head coach Jaime Infante knew his game plan would have to change if his team were to have a fighting chance.
“We knew their secondary was talented and we tried to take advantage of the man-to-man coverage they were giving us,” Infante said.
“It took us awhile to adjust to their closing speed but we eventually got our running game going, which turned out to be effective for us later on.”
Lyford’s Frank Moreno was the star performer for the Valley’s Bulldogs as he had 124 all-purpose yards with one rushing touchdown and one interception on defense.
“The guy’s a football player who rarely comes off the field and he gave us great effort all night long,” Infante said.
Lyford’s defensive unit didn’t go down without a fight as it recovered a fumble, blocked two kicks and came away with an interception.
“These guys played hard from the start to the finish and they represented the district well tonight,” Infante concluded.
Despite the tough loss Infante remained optimistic about the future of his program as its core members return next year, including Moreno.
Lyford ends its season at 8-4.
