Navarro Football: Bulldogs stay alive with 30-29 win in Conference Semifinals, face Kilgore for title
Nov. 13—ATHENS — Navarro's "Never count us out" Bulldogs did it again Saturday at Bruce Field in Athens, where they upset Trinity Valley in the SWJCFC Semifinals 30-29 to advance to the Conference Championship game against Kilgore Saturday in Kilgore.
How did they get here?
The Bulldogs started the season at 0-2 and were outscored 92-36 before opening conference play, where they flipped their season on its head, winning 5-of-6 games and securing a playoff spot in the conference four-team tournament by winning their final two conference games, beating Cisco 35-7 and upsetting No. 19 Tyler 39-24 to reach the playoffs after losing 41-24 against TVCC, which made the Cardinals a huge favorite in Saturday's rematch.
Quarterback Dane Jentsch had a big performance to lead the Dawgs against Tyler in the regular season finale. Jentsch completed 20-of-30 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 77 yards and two TDs on 19 carries.
He was even better Saturday.
Jentsch completed 21-of-30 passes for a season-high 371 yards and three touchdowns in Navarro's biggest game of the year. D'Tyrian McCoy rushed for 100 yards on 16 carries, running for two touchdowns and catching two passes for 40 yards and a touchdown pass from Jentsch, who has thrown for 608 yards and five touchdowns in his last two games.
Braylon Finney led the Bulldog receivers with seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown and Bryan Spotwood had a big day, catching three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Perez nailed two field goals and three extra points in a game where every point literally mattered.
Darion Pearce had a monster game for TVCC, completing 32-of-53 passes for 472 yards and three touchdowns only to fall a point short.
