Pueblo had more to celebrate than just Homecoming on Friday night.
The Warriors bounced back from a 1-4 start to the season by handing Douglas its first loss of the year, winning 47-0.
The Bulldogs were trying to break the record for best start in school history, as the 1981 squad also began the season 5-0.
βMan, I wasnβt even thinking about what they had,β Pueblo coach Brandon Sanders said. βI think theyβre doing a great job there.
βCoach (James Fitzgerald) is doing a great job with those guys. Really, it was just putting our stuff together.β
From the Douglas sideline, Fitzgerald said he thought the team came out flat and, after suffering a few injuries, just werenβt able to recover.
βWe let (Pueblo) throw the first punch and dictate the tempo,β Fitzgerald said.
βWe tried to beat them at Pueblo football and Pueblo is better at playing Pueblo football, obviously.β
The Bulldogs were able to stop the Warriors on their opening drive, but then lost possession on their first drive on a fumble. Pueblo converted the turnover into a touchdown two plays later on a 11-yard run by Omar Ibanez.
The Warriors didnβt allow Douglas a first down on its next drive and, after the Bulldogs punted, scored again on their second play β this time on a 44-yard touchdown run.
Pueblo went on to score once more in the first quarter and once in the second quarter β on a Hail Mary 50-yard pass to Robert Jackson β to lead 26-0 at the half.
The Warriors added another score in the third β thanks to a Douglas interception that Julio Carino ran in immediately β and scored twice more in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Ibanez was celebrating more than Homecoming. The senior closed off his 18th birthday with 112 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.
Defensively, he had two tackles and a sack for a loss of five yards.
βItβs the best birthday present ever,β Ibanez said. βWe won as a team today.β
Jackson had 108 yards on three receptions and two touchdowns.
Hoping not to be shut out, Douglas was finally able to move the ball into the red zone for the first time in the game, but an incomplete pass from the 5-yard line forced a turnover on downs with seconds left on the board.
The Bulldogs (5-1) will continue their schedule with what is looking to be another difficult game against Walden Grove next Friday, which will serve as Douglasβ Homecoming.
Fitzgerald said heβd allow the team to feel the loss on the ride home, but come midnight the Bullodgs would have to reset to focus on Walden Grove.
βWeβve got to practice harder, weβve got to study film harder β weβve got to improve all around to win our Homecoming next week,β Fitzgerald said.
Douglas had won its first five games by a combined score of 223-50.
Pueblo will next play at Palo Verde next Friday.
Going into the Douglas game, Sanders told the team they were starting a new season as the region portion of their schedule was just starting.
βSo, weβre 1-0 and weβre happy to be 1-0, but we still got work to do,β Sanders said.
