Last season, the Ignacio High School football team stormed into Dolores and defeated the Bears 50-0. This season, Dolores returned the favor with a 13-0 win over the Bobcats in Ignacio on Oct. 24.
With the victory, the Bears concluded their season with a 4-5 record, while Ignacio dropped to 1-7 on the year.
Among the several Dolores players who played key roles in the victory was Mikeal Ford, who rushed 11 times for 162 yards. Among the senior's impressive runs was an 85-yard touchdown scamper on the game's opening drive that put Dolores ahead 6-0.
Scoring the Bears other touchdown in the game was Guy Wallace, who ran in from eight yards out. Overall, Dolores ran for 298 yards, which, according to head coach Chris Trusler, was due in large part to a strong offensive line.
"Our offensive line had its best performance of the season thus far," said Trusler. "Our guys were really focused and really hyped up for the game."
Complementing the Bears rushing attack was a passing attack that combined for 89 total yards. Ford threw for 51 yards, while Brandon Ward led Dolores in receiving with 36 yards.
The Dolores defense was led by Kellen Gatzke, whose 20 tackles gave him 159 on the season, leaving him four tackles short of the school record.
"(Gatzke) has been the leader on the defense all year," said Trusler. "We were really hoping he would get enough (tackles) to get the record. He had an outstanding season."
Also playing well for the defense was Brandon Donaldson, who, along with his teammates in the secondary, limited a high-powered Ignacio passing attack to just 89 yards.
"We changed up the scheme a little bit so that we could stop (Ignacio's) air attack," said Trusler. "We did a good job of limiting their quarterback, Adison Jones."
With their season now complete, Dolores will look ahead to next year, which could be a good one for the Bears. Although the team will lose several key players to graduation, numerous contributors will return.
"Next year, we're going to have an even younger team than we have this year," said Trusler. "We've got some good eighth-grade kids coming up. It's a real bright future."
