Ramona Bulldogs 42, Poway Titans 7
The Ramona Bulldogs are one win away from their first perfect regular season in school history. The Bulldogs claimed their ninth straight victory tonight against the Titans on Poway’s Senior Night. That means Ramona remains on top in the Palomar League rankings with a league record of 5-0, while the Titans fall to 2-3 in league and 3-6 overall.
Ramona’s junior running back Sean McDonald kicked off the action in the first quarter with a 27-yard touchdown run to put Ramona on top. McDonald then kept it coming with another 7-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0 Ramona.
Poway looked like they were ready to put up a fight when senior quarterback T.J. Elkinton threw a 30-yard pass to receiver Jack Blanco to put the Titans in the red zone. It was Garrett Van Nostrand who would finish the deal, diving one yard into the end zone to put Poway on the board.
But McDonald would strike again in the second quarter, scoring a 33-yard rushing touchdown to extend Ramona’s lead to two touchdowns again: 21-7 Ramona. That would be McDonald’s third TD on the night. Later in the quarter, Bulldog senior QB Casey Buggeln threw a beautiful 30-yard TD pass to Christian Gabriel to put Ramona up 28-7. Senior running back Tristan Stacy decided he wanted in on the fun, as he returned a Poway punt 36 yards for a touchdown to make the score 35-7 Ramona.
Ramona went on to win 42-7, as both their offense and defense shined. Next week, Ramona will look to extend their win streak to 10-0 when they take on Del Norte at home. Meanwhile Poway will look to end their regular season with a win when they take on Rancho Bernardo on the road. Tune in to PPR on KUSI every Friday night at 10:30pm to keep up with all the best highlights and recaps.
PREVIEW: Week 10 of the Prep Pigskin Report takes us to Poway High School, where the Titans will host the undefeated Ramona Bulldogs in a Palomar League matchup with playoff implications. It will be Senior Night at Poway, and the game will certainly be a battle between the two rival schools. Kickoff is set for 7pm this Friday.
The Bulldogs, led by head coach Damon Baldwin, have had a perfect 8-0 season thus far, including a 4-0 record in the Palomar League, putting them at the top of league rankings. Last week Ramona stormed past Rancho Buena Vista, winning by a score of 49-17, marking the most points the Bulldogs had scored in a single game so far this season. Ramona’s closest match was against Point Loma in Week 2, where the Bulldogs won by just one touchdown in the 21-14 victory. In all other games, the Bulldogs have absolutely dominated, winning by double-digit point margins.
The Bulldogs have displayed sharp focus and determination in each game, with their eyes on the prize. According to Coach Baldwin, "We want to WIN the Palomar League Championship and we do not want to be CO-champions with anyone. This has always been our goal." And that starts with keeping their win streak alive against Poway this Friday. "Winning a game at Poway is always a challenge," said Coach Baldwin.
The Titans, led by head coach Scott Coats, are 3-5 overall and 2-2 in league, with their two league losses in the two previous weeks. Poway is looking to bounce back from a 21-7 loss to Vista last week at home. "We took a hard loss last week," said Coach Coats. "The bottom line is that we were unable to convert our scoring chances, despite putting up over 400 yards of offense." That loss moved Poway down in the Palomar rankings from 3rd to 4th out of the seven teams. That means the next two games will be must-wins for the Titans. "If we are able to continue to grow and build some positive momentum, I hope to have them geared up for a playoff run," said Coach Coats.
Focusing on this week, Coach Coats said, "We will continue to work hard and prepare for a very good Ramona team. There is a lot to admire about the job their players and coaching staff are doing this year, and they execute at a very high level. We will put together a great game plan and focus on cutting down our mental errors and on finishing our drives with scores." Coach Baldwin echoed the same respect for the Poway team, saying, "Poway is a great program with good players so we have our work cut out for us." He continued, "We are continuing to work on getting better as a team and in all our phases of the game."
Not getting complacent has been a key to success for Ramona. It’s no doubt that this has been a special season for the Bulldogs, and Coach Baldwin credits that to his unselfish team. "We have a universal group of kids that are all making this happen, not just one player or two. It has truly been a joy and a blessing to coach so many great kids that come to work each day with one purpose and that is to celebrate the success of all of them."
The last time these teams met, Poway won 51-22. This Friday should showcase an exciting matchup, as both teams will battle to come out on top. Kickoff is set for 7pm. Tune in to the PPR on KUSI this Friday at 10:30pm for a recap of this game and more throughout the county, and be sure to follow @RedJacketArmy on Instagram and Twitter for live game updates.
