The San Saba Armadillos shut out the Hamilton Bulldogs 27-0 at Rogan Field last Friday night for the first win of the season. San Saba dominated the game on the ground with 330 yards rushing while limiting Hamilton to 104 yards.

San Saba won the toss and, as is their custom, deferred to the second half. Diego Gonzalez kicked the ball through the end zone for a touchback. On the first play of the game, Hamilton fumbled the ball and Wil Sloan recovered for the Dillos at the 19.

On the first play for San Saba, Gary Gant was hit and the ball came loose. Mitchell Cude of Hamilton came out of the pile with the pigskin at the 11. Two plays later, Gary Gant fell on a bad pitch out and the Armadillos had the ball at the Bulldog 6.

Jack Whitten scored on a 1-yard plunge on 2nd down. Gonzalez was good on the PAT and San Saba moved in front 7-0.

Gonzalez kicked the ball into the end zone again putting the ball at the 20 for the Bulldogs. The Dillo defense held and forced a punt. Luke Cox returned it to the Hamilton 48.

San Saba ran the ball down the field using eight plays to score. Alan Hale got the touchdown on a 7-yard run. The PAT by Gonzalez drifted wide to the right and the score stood at 13-0.

Hamilton returned the kickoff to the 22 yard line. Unable to gain a first down, the Bulldogs punted again. Luke Cox fielded the punt but was tackled immediately. A penalty pushed the ball back to the Dillo 22.

San Saba had to punt after gaining one first down and Hamilton started at the 27.

After 3rd down, with 9:29 left in the second quarter, the officials told everyone to get off the field and asked the fans to go to cover because of lightning in the area.

The delay lasted over an hour before the game was allowed to resume. Hamilton punted the ball to San Saba. The Armadillos started at the 36 yard line.

On the first play, lightning struck again as Jack Whitten broke loose on a 64-yard touchdown run. Diego Gonzalez converted the PAT to move the score to 20-0.

After a Bulldog punt, the teams traded turnovers on downs and San Saba ended the half with the ball and the 20-0 lead.

It was decided during halftime to use an "accelerated clock" for the second half in an effort to speed up the game. The game clock was started when the play clock started after each play when it normally doesn’t.

San Saba started the second half with the ball and soon punted. Hamilton looked to be driving but lost the ball when Wil Sloan jumped on a loose ball at the Dillo 43.

The Armadillos used 11 plays to drive for the score. Alan Hale got his second touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run. The Gonzalez PAT put the score at 27-0 with 51 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

The defense soon forced a punt. Luke Cox muffed the catch but was able to fall on the ball at the 24.

San Saba drove down the field again and looked to be ready to score when Hamilton fell on a loose ball inside the Bulldog 1.

Hamilton ran off the remaining 6:11 of the game getting the ball past midfield before time expired on the 27-0 Armadillo victory.

Jack Whitten led the running game with 156 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries. Alan Hale scored twice with his 75 yards on 11 carries. Gary Gant added 70 yards on 12 carries. Luke Cox had the only reception for 13 yards.

The district went 3-2 this week with Harper having the week off. Sonora improved to 4-0 and Junction beat Johnson City for its first win. Ozona lost to Van Horn and Coleman was blanked by Colorado City.

This week the Dillos take the long and winding road to Lago Vista to tackle the 4-0 Vikings. Something new from the last trip San Saba made in 2007 is visitor side seating. Kickoff is set for 7:30 come and support the team as they get ready for district play.