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Making good progress
With plenty of young, talented players in fold, Bulldogs have bright future ahead of them
When New Waverly entered the playoffs a little over a year ago, it was new and uncharted territory for the Bulldogs. It was the first time in a few years that New Waverly had been to the postseason.
The Bulldogs, equipped with a large number of freshmen and sophomores, went up against the defending state champions and lost to Rogers in three games in the bi-district round.
Although New Waverly didn’t last very long, the Bulldogs got plenty of playoff experience along with the stinging feeling of an early exit.
Another year older and more seasoned, the Dogs were determined to get back to the playoffs and have a much better outcome this spring.
They certainly achieved that as New Waverly was dominant for most of the season. After losing two of its first three games, the Bulldogs went on a tear, winning 19 of its final 20 regular-season games, which included a perfect run through District 21-2A.
Much of the Bulldogs’ success came from its young pitching staff. When Matt Roberts and Cole Bohannon were on the mound, New Waverly was nearly untouchable. That was the case even in the playoffs until the Bulldogs ran into a pesky White Oak squad, which ended New Waverly’s dreams of advancing to the state tournament on Saturday.
Roberts picked up three of his 10 wins in the playoffs against Shelbyville, Deweyville and White Oak. Roberts finished the season with a 0.89 earned run average and 104 strikeouts.
Bohannon went 8-1 on the year with a 2.60 ERA.
The good news for the Bulldogs is that Roberts is only a sophomore and Bohannon a freshman.
With those two hurlers, along with juniors Ryan Reyes, who was an all-state selection in ’08 but was hobbled with bicep problems for most of this season, and Matt Gray, the Bulldogs have a solid foundation in the lineup for next season.
Not only is New Waverly set on the mound, but the Bulldogs can expect their offense to be even better with nearly every starter returning.
The Dogs will return four batters who hit better than .300, including Gray, who batted .467 and drove in 35 runs.
The only starter New Waverly will be without is shortstop Rhett Bohannon, who helped the Dogs advance as far as they did because of his defensive acumen.
While New Waverly didn’t quite get as far in the playoffs as it hoped, with another year of its pitchers and batters becoming more battle-tested, the Bulldogs may make even more noise in 2010.
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Bulldogs are back again in 2010
They’ve been here before and know Austin all too well.Two years ago, the New Waverly Bulldogs made their first trip to the state tournament, but it ended rather quickly in a disappointing blowout loss to Tuscola Jim Ned.
Then last March, the Bulldogs got past Shallowater and advanced to the state championship game only to fall to defending state champion Ponder 51-39.
This time around, the Bulldogs are determined to take another step forward and come back with a state championship. They’re back again in 2010, and they say they’re going to finish the job this time. -
Bulldogs pass first test
NEW CANEY — Though it had been more than a week since the New Waverly boys played a meaningful game, the Dogs didn’t show an ounce of rust Thursday night.
With a strong defensive effort, the top-ranked Bulldogs cruised past East Chambers 78-36 and into the Region III quarterfinals where they’ll face either fourth-ranked Kountze or Buffalo early next week. -
Lady Dogs live to play another day
Leading by 16 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Lady Dogs would coast to an easy playoff victory.
The only problem was that Kirbyville never stopped playing. The feisty Ladycats made a game out of it.
Barely, the Lady Dogs held on, escaping with a 52-51 victory in Angelina College’s Shands Gym to advance to the area round of the Class 2A playoffs.
- Lady Bulldogs start playoffs Monday night in Lufkin
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Dogs clinch outright district title
NEW WAVERLY — If the Bulldogs haven’t already made space in the trophy case, they can do so now.
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Lady Hornets set playoff date
The Lady Hornets might have lost out on an outright district title Tuesday night at Willis, but the Lady Hornets got a big win Wednesday.
- Lady Bulldogs charge into playoffs
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Bulldogs blast Groveton 107-23
NEW WAVERLY — It certainly didn’t take long to figure out if the Bulldogs would continue their lengthy district winning streak.
In the opening minutes of Tuesday’s game against Groveton, the Bulldogs hit shots and forced turnovers. Top-ranked New Waverly scored the game’s first 19 points and rolled from there.
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New Waverly girls, boys crush Onalaska
The Lady Bulldogs took one step closer toward getting into the playoffs after cruising past Onalaska 56-16 Friday night.
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Bulldogs start new signing day tradition
In front of their friends, families and classmates, X’Zavious Harrison, Kyren Watts and his twin brother Tyren Watts fulfilled lifelong dreams as they signed scholarship offers Wednesday afternoon to play college football.
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Bulldogs are back again in 2010
