Throughout its glory days under legendary head coach Ken Soper, the Dove Creek High School football team was known for its physical style of play and punishing rushing attack.
Playing at home against Del Norte on Sept. 28, the Bulldogs turned back the clock and provided a glimpse of what could be a dominant future during a 62-26 victory over a talented team that had lost to Mancos by just four points earlier this season.
“Our offense was clicking,” Dove Creek head coach Shane Baughman said. “Our backs ran really well and followed their blocks. I think we wore them down up front with our big boys.”
Among the impressive statistics for the Bulldogs were 488 rushing and seven rushing touchdowns. Gage Bailey rushed for 156 yards and one touchdown, Gauge Thompson rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Chorbin Cressler rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns. JD Dennison and Walker Cressler also scored rushing touchdowns for Dove Creek.
“We were able to spread the ball around and utilize different guys,” Baughman said. “It kept (Del Norte) off balance. I thought that Chorbin Cressler ran the offense very calmly throughout the game.”
On the defensive side of the ball, members of the Bulldogs secondary were put to the test as Del Norte threw the ball 34 times while running the ball only 22 times. Del Norte receiver Kaleb Batzer proved especially difficult for the Bulldogs to cover as the senior made several spectacular catches in spite of tight coverage.
“(Batzer) was a really good receiver,” Baughman said. “He might have been one of the best eight-man receivers that I’ve ever seen. He had great leaping ability, and he kind of gave us some fits, but we were able to stop the run game fairly well.”
Dove Creek led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Del Norte 30-6 in the second quarter to build a 46-20 halftime lead. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 62-26 by the end of the third quarter, and neither team scored during the game’s final frame.
The Bulldogs recovered four onside kicks on the contest, which set up several scoring drives and also benefited from two interceptions by Thompson.
Dove Creek improved its record to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain League with the win, while Del Norte fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain League with the loss.
Next up for Dove Creek will be a home matchup against Monument Valley (Utah) on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
