Hancock College running back Diondrea Bryant ran for one third-quarter touchdown Saturday night. Quarterback Greg Draper threw for another, and the Bulldogs seemed all set to take their home opener.

Three turnovers, a wreck of a punting game and a costly penalty or two later and the game was emphatically Reedley's. With plenty of help from the Bulldogs, the Tigers scored the last 24 points and beat the Bulldogs 31-17 in a non-conference game at Righetti High School's Warrior Stadium.

A moment of sillence was held before the game to honor Tau Sudlow. The former Hancock standout linemen was shot and killed earlier this year.

The Bulldogs host Los Angeles Pierce at 6 p.m. next Saturday.

Reedley and Hancock are both 1-1. “Mistakes just killed us,” Hancock coach Kris Dutra said afterward.

Big mistake number one in the second half came late in the third quarter. Draper, who had thrown a 38-yard strike to Joshua Morris about six minutes earlier to put Hancock ahead 16-7, threw toward the sidelines under a heavy rush.

Reedley defensive back Jason Kelly grabbed the ball and ran it back to the 19. Eric Johnson scored from the two four plays later.

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Big mistake number two came near the end of the quarter. Reedley blocked two Michael Trujillo punts Saturday, and this time Trujillo had no choice but to wait to get hammered as the snap from center rolled back to him. He was indeed hammered, back at the Bulldogs 23.

Big mistake number three came early in the fourth quarter. On second-and-long from the 32 on the ensuing series, the Bulldogs stopped quarterback Darius Reynolds after an eight-yard run. A flag for a helmet-to-helmet hit made it first down at the 12 and Johnson darted in from the 6 two plays later to put Reedley ahead for good.

Big mistake number four came a bit later. Joshua Walker caught a Draper pass for 17 yards then, fighting for extra yardage, fumbled. Reedley recovered.

Big mistake number five came a few plays later. The Bulldogs stopped Johnson short of the first down on third down, but a personal foul penalty gave the Tigers a first down at Hancock's 41. Johnson bolted down the sidelines for a touchdown on the next play.

The Bulldogs took only a glancing blow after a blocked punt put the ball on their 20 with 6:49 to play. Their defense stiffened on first-and-goal from the 8. The Tigers settled for A.J. Forestiere's 22-yard field goal.

Hancock couldn't overcome the Tigers' offense playing on mini-fields so much, but the Bulldogs defense, led by lineman Eric Jones, linebacker Brent Thomas and cornerback Lamar Allen, gave it a game try.

“The defense was on the field a lot tonight,” said Dutra. “They did a good job.”

Hancock's defense got the job done with a stand at its 13 after Reedley drove from its 6 in the second quarter. Forestiere's 23-yard field goal try with 59 seconds left in the half missed.

The Tigers stuffed the Bulldogs' powerful inside running game most of the time. Hancock had all of 25 rushing yards in the first half. The Bulldogs wound up with 71 yards on the evening. St. Joseph graduate Thomas Sua was the Bulldogs' top rusher with 37 yards on seven carries.

Before the big mistakes came, the Bulldogs' passing game made a lot of good things happen.

The Bulldogs couldn't move much the first half after settling for Casey Beluz's 20-yard field goal after a 57-yard opening drive. Starting quarterback Eric Anderwkavich's short, quick passes worked consistently, though. He wound up 9-for-11 for 135 yards.

Dorson Boyce, Hancock's 6-3, 238-pound tight end, turned one of those short passes into a long gain. Pow! Boyce ran through one would-be tackler at the 20. Wham! He took on another and was finally dragged down at the 2. That set up Bryant's 1-yard scoring run.

The Bulldogs went with Draper most of the way thereafter. Draper threw the touchdown strike to Morris, but then came the interception and Reedley put him under a lot of pressure thereafter.

“We're not consistent at the quarterback position right now,” Dutra said. “We'll address that.”

Two Hancock regulars left the game with injuries and didn't return. Defensive lineman David Vil suffered a knee injury. Receiver Matthew Grant suffered a concussion in the second half.

September 14, 2008