Sports
Bulldogs Injury-Riddled Season Ends with Playoff Loss
Ramona falls to Lincoln 34-7 in the Division III playoffs to close out a 1-10 campaign.
Reaching the CIF playoffs may have eased the pain of a rough season for the Ramona High School football team, but on Friday night the Bulldogs once again felt the sting of the Lincoln Hornets.
Ramona fell to Lincoln for the second straight year in the opening round of the Division III playoffs, this time by a 34-7 score that ended the Bulldogs’ season at 1-10.
“It’s been a brutal year, but I told the kids I was proud of them to the end,” said Ramona coach Damon Baldwin. “It was a very painful year with all the injuries and adversity, but we have a lot of good young kids coming back and we’re excited to get back to work for next year.”
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In a battle of one-win teams, the Hornets scored on their first possession and added a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter en route to a 21-0 halftime lead.
The victory sends Lincoln (2-8-1) to a quarterfinal-round matchup next Friday at No. 1 seed Cathedral Catholic (9-1). Hornets quarterback Tajon Mondy threw three touchdown passes against Ramona, including a pair of TD passes to Tyrell Robinson covering 8 and 23 yards.
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Ramona got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the second half as Elias Jauregui motored for a 21-yard TD run with just 2:03 elapsed in the third period.
Lincoln responded with a 10-play scoring drive that was culminated by a 46-yard TD pass to Tyree Robinson, the twin brother of Tyrell.
The Bulldogs were limited to 132 total yards of offense for the game, with Jauregui rushing for 118 yards.
“Every week we practiced harder and harder and continued to persevere,” said Jauregui, a senior who took over as the Bulldogs’ leading rusher after Kirk Kaliszewski was injured three weeks ago.
Due to injury and illness, Ramona started its fourth quarterback on the depth chart. Sophomore Ryan Lopez got the call and was intercepted twice before yielding to senior Travis Stevens, who was slated to be the Bulldogs’ No. 1 signal-caller before suffering a broken leg during the summer.
Stevens played the fourth quarter and connected on his first four pass attempts, finishing 4-of-6 for 46 yards in his only appearance of the season. He was also sacked three times.
Ramona has now lost seven consecutive postseason games since 2005. Lincoln also ended the Bulldogs season last year with a 41-28 playoff victory.
