League play for the Bulldogs finally came with a home game against Upland’s Highlanders, a rather equal opponent to Ayala in comparison by record, 2-5. Both teams were coming off losses to worthy opponents, and both were chasing playoff hopes with a must win game to help assure a spot in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Playoffs. 

The first quarter was a preview for how the game would go, with back and forth possessions and many big plays. Upland’s offense showed signs of powering through Ayala’s defense, which has been stellar for the past couple weeks, yet Upland was held to zero. Ayala, coincidentally, was also pushing through the Highlander’s defense, but they did not capitalize either, going scoreless in the first quarter to make it a 0-0 game. 

About four seconds into the game, with the Scots in easy scoring range, they were able to punch through and score for a touchdown, putting Upland up 0-7. This now marked the mass amount of scoring that would take place in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs went down and scored on a nice throw to the end-zone, making it a 7-7 game. Upland kept their momentum, starting their own drive downfield that resulted in a touchdown, putting them up 7-14 with about four minutes left in the half. Ayala would not go down, as they mounted another scoring drive that resulted in a touchdown to tie it 14-14. By this point Ayala’s defense had been working, yet they still kept composure and resilience, getting a turnover with less than a minute left in the half. The Bulldog’s offense was explosive this quarter, putting up yet another touchdown against a worn Upland defense that let up 21 points in one quarter. With the final seconds of the second quarter now over it was 21-14. 

With both teams returning from halftime, and Ayala receiving the second half kickoff, the game was poised for more action and suspense. However, the third quarter was not very eventful, the only big plays coming from the Highlanders who scored a touchdown to tie the game 21-21. The third quarter served as a bridge for the Bulldogs, as they started to close in on securing a win or going into overtime. 

Going into the fourth quarter, the suspense was through the roof. A tied ball game gave Ayala hope, as their offense was driving and their defense proved to get some stops, holding Upland to a field goal in the end-zone. This would turn into Ayala’s next scoring drive, getting a long throw into the end-zone to set them up for a touchdown to put them up 28-24 with a couple minutes left in the fourth. Scoring would not subside, which marked bad news for the roaring Bulldogs who let up a touchdown with around a minute left to give the Scots a 31-28 lead. This put the raging Ayala offense into fast pace, getting the ball down field scenarios. After missing a crucial first down opportunity near the end-zone, the Bulldogs would now have to settle with a 33 yard field goal, which was just short of the crossbar. This miss would seal the game, missing an overtime (OT) chance for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs are set to play this upcoming Thursday, going on the road to play Damien High School, and in search of their first league win. This will be the Bulldog’s final road game of the regular season, as well as their second-to-last game of the entire season.