Throughout a 42-34 road loss to Rangely High School on Sept. 6, members of the Dove Creek High School football team showed the type of fight that could make them contenders for a spot in the 8-man playoffs this season.
Penalties and mental mistakes plagued the Bulldogs throughout the contest however, as Dove Creek lost a game that it felt it could have won and dropped to 0-2 on the season.
“Overall, I thought that (our players) played hard and that they played well,” Bulldogs head coach Shane Baughman said. “We had three touchdowns called back because of penalties and that hurt us. We made some mistakes.”
Among the standout performers for Dove Creek was sophomore quarterback Chorbin Cressler, who threw for one touchdown, ran for another, and had a receiving touchdown on a pass from junior running back Gauge Thompson on a trick play.
Also playing a key role for the Bulldogs was junior running back Gage Bailey, who opened his team’s scoring with a rushing touchdown during the second quarter and made several physical runs behind junior lineman Austin Beanland.
“Gage Bailey ran the ball hard,” Baughman said. “I also thought that Austin Beanland played really well at the defensive end spot and at center. He has made the transition from quarterback/defensive back to the line, and his quickness and explosiveness are really helping him.”
Dove Creek trailed 8-0 at the end for the first quarter before scoring two touchdowns in the second to cut the deficit to 14-12 at halftime. Two Rangely touchdowns in the third quarter broke the game open and made the score 34-12, before a fourth-quarter push by Dove Creek cut the final deficit to eight points.
Next up for the Bulldogs will a home matchup against Plateau Valley, which will kick off at 7 p.m. today.
