Gabriella Salguero is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for AZPreps365.com

The Sierra Linda Bulldogs broke their losing streak against Betty H. Fairfax on their home turf in an exciting back-and-forth game Friday night, 21-10.

Both teams entered the game with 0-4 records and hoped to come away with their first win of the season. The Bulldogs trailed, 10-7, at halftime. 

“The first four games we lost, two of them we had it in the fourth quarter and gave it away,” Sierra Linda coach Roland Pierce said. “That felt terrible, but we came here losing in the half and pulled out the victory.”

The Bulldogs offense adjusted their game plan and the defense stepped up to stop the Stampedes’ momentum in the second half. 

This resulted in a rushing touchdown by Sierra Linda quarterback Joe Pearson . The Bulldogs took the lead in the third quarter 13-10.

“The first half was definitely the most difficult mentally,” Pearson said. “We came out a little flat in the second quarter but that little pep talk at the half helped.”

During halftime in the locker room, the message was clear for the Bulldogs to get their minds right and not make any more mistakes. 

The first drive in the fourth quarter ended with a bad snap by the Stampede that went over the head of the quarterback. The Bulldogs recovered the ball at the 11-yard line. 

“We get the first down, we’re cleaning off the clock to try to score and win this game, but we snap it over our head,” Betty H. Fairfax coach Tyrone Preyer said. “We can’t have that. We’ve got to be better.”

That mistake set up a 5-yard rushing touchdown for the Bulldogs that gave them a 21-10 lead with 9:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.

As the Stampede received the kickoff, they had another opportunity to cut into the Bulldogs’ lead. The offense tried to gain yardage, but the Bulldogs defense forced them to punt.

Bulldog returners dropped the ball during the punt and the Stampede gained possession on the Bulldogs' 42-yard line, which gave them one more opportunity to punch in a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Once again, the Bulldogs defense stayed solid for the last few minutes of the game and intercepted the ball on the Stampedes’ second play of that drive.

As the Bulldogs offense came closer to the end zone, the Stampede's defense recovered a fumble on the 32-yard line that gave their offense one last chance to score with three minutes left in the fourth.

Again, only two plays and the dominant Bulldog defense made another interception on the Stampede's 31-yard line with two minutes left on the clock. 

The Bulldogs offense took the field for the last time and ran the ball to wind down the clock to receive their first win.

“We practiced really hard every single day this week,” said Bulldogs running back Wesley Reece, who rushed for 132 yards. “We grew the intensity and even had morning practices at six in the morning.”

This determination goes back to what the coaches preached to their players as they prepared throughout the week.

“All week we were preaching mental toughness, execution, and play 48 minutes of football and that’s what we did tonight,” Pierce said.

The Stampede (0-5) will host the North Mustangs (0-5) at 7 p.m. next Friday.

The Bulldogs (1-4) will travel to face the Gila Ridge Hawks (1-3) Friday at 7 p.m.