Bainville Closes Football Season With Playoff Loss On Road

Bainville struck first on an Evan Anderson touchdown pass to Parker Berwick, but Grass Range/Winnett pulled away for a 63-13 win in the quarterfinals, ending a season in which the Bulldogs reached the quarter-final round for just the second time since football returned to Bainville.

For head coach Derik Pierce, that accomplishment went back to work the Bulldogs put in before they ever played a down. The team spent the summer learning a new offense and adjusting to a change in coaching staff and expectations.

“I’m extremely proud of how they showed up starting way back in June and continued to put the work in all summer going into Fall camp,” Pierce said.

Anderson’s pass to Berwick gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead with 6:19 left in the first quarter. The Rangers answered 71 seconds later with a touchdown pass and a conversion kick to go ahead 8-6. A touchdown run and another scoring pass extended their lead to 24-6 by the end of the quarter.

Grass Range/Winnett scored three ways in the second quarter. The Rangers returned a punt for a touchdown with 9:32 left in the half, ran in a Bainville fumble and added a touchdown pass with 3:33 remaining to take a 48-6 lead into halftime.

Bainville held the Rangers to one touchdown in the third quarter, then got three players involved in its final scoring sequence of the season. Kyn Beery ran for a touchdown with 7:27 left in the game, and Anderson found Rylan Iverson on the conversion pass to make it 56-13. The Rangers added a touchdown and a conversion pass with 52 seconds left.

Pierce said the Bulldogs had hoped to go further, but he wanted them to celebrate what they accomplished. He credited the juniors and seniors with leading by example throughout the season and said the departing seniors were leaving the program with “a great foundation and example to build off of for years to come.”