Shorthorns Fall to No. 3-Ranked Ganado

Schulenburg lost 61-31 Friday night to one of the best teams in the state, the No. 3-ranked Ganado Indians.

Only one other team has scored more than 30 points against Ganado this year, East Bernard, a bigger 3A Division 2 team. And East Bernard won that game 3312. It was Ganado’s only loss this season.

The Indians got up to a 20-0 lead on the Shorthorns in the first quarter. Then they score again on the second play of the second quarter, bringing the score to 27-0.

“We can’t give them a head start,” said Schulenburg head coach Luke Hobbs. “Ganado is as good as it gets.”

The Shorthorns finally broke their momentum a few minutes later. Pinned back on their 7 yard line, Ganado quarterback Bryce Ullman dropped back to pass. Schulenburg defender Preston Kahn broke through the line and nearly sacked Ullman. Before he fell, though, Ullman tossed the ball out the back of the end zone. The officials ruled it a safety, and Schulenburg finally got on the board 27-2.

The Horns followed that up with a 11-play scoring drive. Shorthorn running back Houston reached the end zone on a pass. Quarterback Aaron Janecek ran in a two point conversion, and the Horns trailed 27-10 with 2:19 left in the half. That was the closest the score got for the rest of the night.

“They are a very good team,” Hobbs said. “They’re physical, but I thought our kids matched their physicality.”

Hobbs said he was impressed with his team’s ability to stop Ganado’s running game - a feat only East Bernard has been able to accomplish.

“We played the run really well, he said. “No one has stopped their run in many weeks. We stopped it tonight.”

Six of the Indian’s nine touchdowns came off the pass. The Horns had an especially tough time defending the screen pass.

“They screened us to death,” Hobbs said. “They have five or six really fast receivers and a quarterback as efficient as I’ve ever seen. Very quick release. Very good decisions.”

Despite the 30-point ending deficit, the game didn’t seem out of reach for the Horns until the fourth quarter. Even then, trailing 55-24 with 10:30 left in the game, Shorthorn defensive back Reid Janda picked up an interception near midfield and ran it to the Ganado 15 before being tackled. Janecek punched in the touchdown three plays later and narrowed the gap to 55-31. Schulenburg tried an onside kick, but the ball failed to go 10 yards. Only 7:45 remained in the game - not nearly enough time to change the tide. Ganado reached the end zone once more, and time expired with the score 61-31.

“We were trailing 27-7 in the Rogers game, too, and then we put up 56,” Hobbs said, referring to the Horns’ 63-56 loss against Rogers in Week 2.

“I told them, ‘Things can change, don’t quit,’” Hobbs said. “I don’t think we quit.” Schulenburg needs to win the last three games of the regular season to secure a third-place seed in the playoff. If they fall to fourth in district, they will likely face the No. 2 team in state, Refugio, in the first round of the playoff.

The Horns, now 1-2 in district and 4-3 overall, face Bloomington away next week. The Bobcats won their first two district games against Danbury and Flatonia, but they lost their last two against Kenedy and Weimar.