Bulldogs top Clark Fork, get ready for Flint Creek
MISSION HIGH School football coach Tyler Murray talks to his team at the beginning of the season. Since moving down to Class C, 8-man the Bulldogs were more competitive than last year. (Photo by Jason Blasco/Lake County Leader)
The Mission High School football team is on the cusp of having one of its most successful finishes in recent memory.
The Bulldogs, who transferred from Class B, 11-man to Class C, 8-man, has found the change to be a successful transition and they finished their second to last game of the season by defeating Clark Fork 54-40.
Mission, who lost out in its opportunity to qualify for the Class C, 8-man playoffs last week with a loss to Plains, is playing for pride, according to their coach Tyler Murray.
The Bulldogs defeated Clark Fork 54-40 Friday night and they have one more game to go before the conclusion of their season.
“That was great to see our kids go out and give a full effort,” Murray said. “That wasn’t much to play for besides personal pride but they didn’t give up on the season. It was just a fun football game to be a part of and all of the coaches wanted to win it.”
For Murray and his team, they also wanted to win for the seniors.
“We wanted to go out and win one last game for the seniors,” Murray said. “We also have to look forward to the future of our program because we have some good players that are juniors and freshmen that we are really excited about.”
Mission will play the No. 1 ranked team in Class C, 8-man Flint Creek. Flint, who earned their designation after defeating Charlo 46-28, has secured and solidified home field advantage throughout the Class C, 8-man western portion of the bracket.
In the first game of the season, Flint Creek hammered the Bulldogs 58-0 but Murray, his coaching staff and his team are now more acclimated to the 8-man game.
Just because the Bulldogs are playing the No. 1 ranked team in the state doesn’t mean they will fold as their season comes to a conclusion.
“You know, it’ll be a good gauge of a game and they are all conference champs in the Western C,” Murray said. “They are a great team and will be well-coached. They just do a lot of really good things. They stick with what they know and go ahead and put the ball in their play makers’ hands. They do it very efficiently and it’s fun to watch them. We hope we can give them a good game. They’ve beat up teams all year. I am curious to see how we respond to playing the No. 1 team twice. Hopefully, we will be be able to finish out the season with a game that I think will be a good gauge for us.”
This will be Mission’s last game of the season as they prepare for the 2018 season.