After another tough loss at home against Maritime College, we entered a bye week knowing that we had to play better in our last game. This was not only the last game of the season. It was also a game in which we could set the tone for the future. It was also senior day and the last time our seniors would ever strap it up and play football as Dean Bulldogs. We knew that this game was for the senior class. We wanted to do whatever it took to send them off with something to remember forever.
Head Coach Stephen Tirrell even deemed the game to be our “Senior Day Super Bowl” to provide us with more motivation for the big game. This game was going to be played against a conference rival in SUNY Alfred - a team that was possibly playing to win the conference championship. That gave us another reason to go all out to try to win this game.
We worked extremely hard throughout the bye week and used the extra week to get healthier as a team. We honored the seniors in multiple different ways during that last week. Before we knew it, it was gameday, and we were locked in and ready to go.
Senior superstar Errol Breaux started senior day with a bang - with a quick 78-yard touchdown catch. We sadly missed the extra point, so we only took a 6-0 lead. SUNY Alfred then kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown to make it a 10-6 ballgame. Then quarterback David Curry connected with receiver Quintus Reid to give us a 12-10 lead that we took into halftime.
SUNY Alfred then rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the back-and-forth matchup. Kicker Mason Dill kicked a field goal to make it a 2-point game going into the 4th quarter. SUNY Alfred then scored 3 straight touchdowns to win the game 37-15.
The game result was very demoralizing. It was tough to handle because we worked extremely hard in camp and all season long to finish with a 2-8 record. The final record was definitely not something to be proud of, and it was sad to see the seniors finish their college careers with a loss after those guys were such great teammates and leaders on the football team.
We ultimately knew that we played hard all season, but this season was a wake-up call for the entire team. We now know that we, as a team, need to pay attention to all aspects of the sport like showing up to practice and meetings on time, showing up to lifts, and lifting during our time off from school if we want to ultimately get to where we want to be next year. We also must handle our business in the classroom and on campus to reach those goals.
This off-season is a chance to get bigger, stronger, and better as a team. To hopefully win some more football games, and to hopefully reach our goal of winning the conference championship next year. More on that next fall in next year’s editions of Inside the Bulldog Huddle.