The Dolores Bears and Dove Creek Bulldogs each fell in their season openers over the weekend.
Hosting the Hotchkiss Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Western Slope League) in Dolores on Friday, the Bears (0-1, 0-0 Southern Peaks League) found themselves trailing 40-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs utilized their formidable line and backfield to plug away on the ground, sprinkling in play-action passes to keep the Bears off balance.
“We were definitely out-muscled in the game,” said head coach Chris Trusler. “And we had several freshmen that started on offense and defense. So, it was a great learning opportunity for our younger guys, that’s for sure.”
The Bears offense was unable to get things going in the run game – finishing with 65 yards on 14 carries – but junior quarterback Justin Purkat made a few crafty plays.
Purkat faced pressure from the Hotchkiss defense, but he was able to roll out of the pocket and connect with receivers like Tristen Medina, Skieler Grooms and Logan Fuller.
Purkat finished 9-of-19 for 109 yards, Medina had five catches for 38 yards, Fuller had four grabs for 63 and Grooms had one catch for eight yards.
Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to string together any scoring drives in the first half, with multiple drives ending in turnover on downs.
The second half went by quicker and with less action, as neither team was able to score in the third quarter.
Hotchkiss tacked on another score early in the fourth to lead 46-0, but the Bears were able to get on the board with less than three minutes remaining when Purkat scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown. Dolores converted on the two-point conversion, and score held, with Hotchkiss winning 46-8.
“It’s good to go up a tough team right out of the gate because it shows you and your kids where you need to be when it comes down to season play and league play,” Trusler said.
He also noted the positives he saw from his group of linebackers, saying, “They did a great job attacking the ball and not sitting and waiting for the ball to come to them.”
Their pursuit of the ball revealed itself in the stat sheet, as sophomore Forest Pejsa recorded 19 total tackles, Talon Zwicker finished with 14, Hezekiah Stinson brought down 11 ball carriers and Fuller finished with 10 tackles.
The Bears will look to bounce back on Friday at Shiprock High School (1-1, 0-0 4A District 1) at 7 p.m.
The Dove Creek Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 A-8 Southwest) also stumbled in their home opener on Saturday.
And like the Bears, they also found themselves playing catch up, as the Rangely Panthers (1-0, 0-0 A-8 Northwest) scored on their first three drives to lead 22-0 in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the second when sophomore quarterback Ryan Martinez rolled out and hit freshman Cade Curtis for a 30-yard touchdown. And the two-point conversion brought the score to 22-8, where it would stay into the break.
The Bulldogs pulled within eight (22-14) after their opening third quarter drive ended in a diving touchdown by Martinez on a 10-yard rush. But right away, Rangely answered, with sophomore quarterback Devin Ramirez burning the Bulldogs’ defense for a 54-yard touchdown run to go back up 28-14.
After intercepting Martinez, Rangely finished the third-quarter scoring by converting on a fourth down for a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ramirez to Drew Brannan to lead 36-14.
Dove Creek scored early in the fourth on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Trudeau, and then each team scored once more – Rangely on a rush by Tytus Coombs and Dove Creek on a 26-yard touchdown scramble by Martinez – as the Panthers prevailed, 44-30.
Dove Creek will next take on the Plateau Valley Cowboys (1-0, 0-0 A-8 Northwest) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
