For a little more than a quarter Friday night, the Odessa Bulldogs were in an unfamiliar spot - behind on the scoreboard.
Pleasant Hill was going to make them fight all game long, as they led 10-0 in the second quarter and 10-7 at halftime. Throw in some frustration on the sidelines, and it was the most adversity the Bulldogs had seen all season.
“In the first half some of the kids lost their poise a bit,” Odessa head coach Mark Thomas said. “We just had to keep playing through it. We only have nine seniors. We’re still pretty young. We’ve not been in that situation before, and you start to wonder, ‘how will we handle it?’.”
Turns out, pretty well.
The Bulldog offense was unstoppable in the second half, scoring a touchdown on six straight possessions to lead them to a 48-38 victory.
“There was a little negativity,” Bulldog wide receiver Jonas Bennett said of the first half. “We talked about how we had to come together and be a team. That was the only way we were going to win.”
Bennett and quarterback Josey Meierarend found a groove from late in the second quarter until the clock ran out, connecting for five touchdowns. In all, Meierarend threw for seven touchdowns, a new school record.
“It was a good game for me,” Meierarend admitted with a smile. “Jonas was a big help and the o-line stepped up.”
Bennett set some school records of his own. The five receiving touchdowns in a game broke his old record of three, while he also set the school record for career receiving touchdowns and yards in a game, with 191 yards on seven catches.
With fellow receiver Eliyh D’Obron going down with a season-ending injury recently, Bennett will be called upon to shoulder more of the load.
“We had to work through Eli’s injury,” Thomas said. “Jonas, he needed to be the go-to guy. He made some big plays for us.”
The best play of the day from Bennett was the one that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good. On their opening possession of the second half, Odessa faced a third-and-14 and Meierarend heaved one toward the end zone for Bennett. Pleasant Hill safety Trey Clevenger just got a fingertip on the ball, but Bennett was able to maintain his concentration and pin the ball on his shoulder for the touchdown and a 14-10 lead.
“I saw at the bottom of my peripheral vision that he tipped it, and I’m not sure how I did it,” Bennett said of the catch. “It was just a reaction. I just brought it to my shoulder.”
Thomas said two of the biggest things that helped get the ball rolling for the offense were running back Dakota DeGraffenried finally starting to get consistent yards on the ground and that opening drive score in the second half.
“I really believe that first drive of the second half was huge, as it got us the lead,” Thomas said. “It established our position in the game.”
Odessa quickly struck again next time they got the ball, this time when Meierarend found Jake Smith from 25 yards out for a 20-10 lead after the missed extra point.
That’s when things really got wild, as the Roosters wouldn’t go away quietly. Quarterback Blake Atkins continually led the Pleasant Hill offense back down the field, as the two teams traded touchdowns on six straight possessions. That streak finally ended when Nathan Pardee intercepted an Atkins pass with the Bulldogs leading 42-31.
Four plays later Bennett found the end zone for the fifth and final time to put the win away.
“Everybody started clicking,” Meierarend said of the offense. “That’s when it comes easy to us.”
Despite a strong offensive showing that saw Atkins throw for more than 300 yards, the Roosters dropped to 6-2 on the season. They will finish the season at Excelsior Springs next Friday night. Odessa is now 8-0 and will host Harrisonville to close the regular season.
