Bulldogs can’t slow blazing Big Horn in first-round loss

The night was frigid, but the Big Horn Rams were red hot Friday night as they bounced the Lovell Bulldogs from the playoffs in the first round with a 49-28 win in Big Horn.

Lovell generated plenty of offense – 264 yards passing and 151 rushing – but the Bulldogs had a difficult time stopping the dynamic Big Horn offense, and the Bulldogs were also unable to take advantage of opportunities they had, especially in the first half.

It was a disappointing end to a strong season that saw the Bulldogs finish 6-3, but coach Nicc Crosby said he told his team following the game that he was proud of them and their effort.

“I (told them) I was proud of how they fought in this game and all year,” he said. “I feel like they never quit. I told them that, obviously, it was a tough team that we played and under the circumstances, missing a key player and having another starter whose availability was off and on throughout the week, there were going to have to be certain things that went our way to compensate for that. It just didn’t happen consistently.”

Missing the game due to concussion protocol was junior Braxton Felkins, a running, blocking and receiving fullback and a hard-nosed middle linebacker.

“He’s our leading tackler at linebacker, and as you could see, we could have used more tackles in the game,” Crosby said. “But as much as anything, Big Horn is very balanced, and they’re very good at attacking what it appears you’re giving them. I feel like it’s critical to disguise what you’re doing (defensively) as much as possible, and that’s hard to do when you’re having to add new personnel at the last minute.

“That’s just asking a lot out of some less experienced players. I feel like they did their best, and our best clearly wasn’t good enough. That’s a heck of a good Big Horn football team.”

Crosby said past Big Horn teams have relied on their passing game, which features quick outs and screens to put talented receivers out in space, but now the Rams have a running game to go with the passing attack. Freshman running back Cruz Hernandez gained 130 yards on 14 carries, and quarterback Avon Barney added 109 yards on 17 carries.

“In the past they’ve been extremely dependent on their passing game; their running game hasn’t been very good,” Crosby said. “But when their quarterback is an exceptional runner, their running back is an exceptional runner, and they have weapons at receiver the way they do, it’s a tall task for anybody to stop.

“In the second half we were trying to load the box enough to slow down the run, and then they hit those screens out to the receivers and trips. You try to sneak more guys out to defend that, and they hit us with some runs.”

Tight first half

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams trading punches, and the lead, for 24 minutes.

Lovell senior Blake Wilson ended the first Big Horn drive with an interception, but Big Horn’s Daniel Walker returned the favor on the second play of the ensuing Lovell series. Big Horn drove to the Lovell 22 but a big hit by seniors Michael Harris and Weston Crumrine set the Rams back two yards, and three straight incomplete passes by Barney turned the ball back to the Bulldogs.

Lovell quarterback Davin Crosby hit Owen Walker over the middle for a 26-yard gain to midfield, but the drive stalled and Jared Mangus punted the ball to the three-yard line.

Big Horn then drove 97 yards to score, the drive beginning with a 67-yard burst by Hernandez to the Lovell 30. Mangus sprinted to make the touchdown saving tackle, but Big Horn scored four plays later on a two-yard quarterback sneak by Barney. Big Horn led 7-0 with 4:20 left in the first quarter.

The ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, so Lovell began the next drive at the 35 and drove 65 yards to score, actually 70 yards after a five-yard penalty on the first snap. Mangus got the drive started with a 26-yard run, and Crosby hit sophomore Matthew Newman for seven yards on fourth and three. Crosby then found Newman on a post pattern deep over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Mangus booted the PAT, and the game was tied 7-7.

The Bulldogs stopped Big Horn on the Rams’ next possession, forcing a punt, then drove 74 yards to score as strong running by Mangus and Crosby set up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Newman, again on the deep post. Lovell led 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

Senior Carter Tew forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, with Cayden Fink pouncing on the ball. Lovell was in business at the Big Horn 43 with a chance to go up by two scores, but it was not to be. A second down sack set the Bulldogs back, and a screen pass didn’t connect. Lovell punted the ball away.

Given new life, Big Horn drove 73 yards to score. Barney ran for 17 yards and hit Gavin Stafford for 17 and Kolby Butler for nine to the Lovell 30. Tew broke up a deep pass, and on third and one the handoff from Barney to lineman-turned-fullback Kiefer Dunham was fumbled and hit the turf but bounced right back into Dunham’s hands for a first down. Having dodged a bullet, the Rams scored in six more plays, a facemask penalty helping sustain the drive. The Rams scored on fourth and seven from the nine, Barney hitting Caleb Gibson for the score.

The PAT fell short, leaving Lovell up 14-13 with 1:46 to play in the first half.

The Bulldogs went to a two-minute drill and quickly drove 64 yards as Mangus gained 10 and Crosby completed passes to Wilson for seven, Mangus for 18 and Mangus for 24, both on perfectly executed screen passes. After most plays, Crosby would spike the ball to stop the clock, and he did so after running for four yards to the two with nine seconds left.

Then came a fateful play that dramatically shifted the momentum of the game. On fourth and goal from the two, Crosby rolled to the left and attempted to hit Adnan Khan in the end zone. Pressure forced the quarterback back a step, and Stafford jumped in front of Khan, picked off the pass and sprinted 100 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion pass was successful, and instead of going into halftime with a 21-13 lead, the crestfallen Bulldogs found themselves down 21-14.

Not having an available fullback (Felkins) and Big Horn stacking the middle of the line played a role on the play, Coach Crosby said.

“The original plan was (that) we had had some success running the ball after spreading them out, but then they loaded up the box and we thought we could roll out and have an opportunity to pass it and run it in or, at the worst, take the one-point lead into the half,” Crosby said. “The snow picked up at the wrong time, and Davin had a bad grip and obviously hindsight’s 20-20, but option one is complete the pass, option two is we run it in and option three is, at worst, we throw an incomplete pass. And instead, it was option four.”

Hard to keep up

The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and went three and out. Big Horn then drove 68 yards to score and take a two-touchdown lead as Barney converted a third-and-10 with a 19-yard run and eventually ran it in from four yards out.

Not scoring on the first drive of the second half affected the Lovell defense, Crosby said.

“That really affected our defensive game plan,” he said. “After that we had to play more aggressively. But even then, I felt there was a point in the game where we had gotten things going again on offense and had a chance to stop them on fourth down and the quarterback was able to break through enough of a tackle to get a critical fourth down.

“We had a chance to get the ball back and defensively in the second half weren’t quite able to make a play we needed to make to stop them and get the ball back. And while we moved the ball pretty well offensively, it was not enough to keep up with them.”

Down 28-14, the never-say-die Bulldogs came right back, driving 70 yards to score as Crosby hit passes of 13, three and 13 again, then hit Newman for his third touchdown catch of the game, this time from 30 yards out. Lovell trailed 28-21 with 3:55 left in the third.

Big Horn took the kickoff and drove to the Lovell 12, and on fourth and one on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs hit Barney in the backfield, but he managed to lean forward for one yard on a first down. Three plays later he took it in from two yards out and Big Horn was back on top 35-21.

Lovell gained one first down on the ensuing series but gave the ball up on downs. Big Horn drove 48 yards in three plays to lead 42-21, with Hernandez breaking free untouched for a 26-yard touchdown run.

Never quitting, the Bulldogs drove 73 yards to score, as Crosby found Newman for the touchdown – his fourth passing TD – from six yards out after Mangus took a screen for 25 yards and broke off a 25-yard run. Still leading by two touchdowns, 42-28, with five minutes left, Big Horn rubbed salt in the wound by going deep over the middle and scoring on a 44-yard touchdown pass, reaching what would be the final score of 49-28.

Final thoughts and stats

Summing up, Crosby said that his team played well, at times, both offensively and defensively but were unable to complement each other with a needed score on offense or a stop on defense. But he also gave credit to Big Horn, noting, “A lot of credit to those guys. That’s a heck of a good team.”

Crosby completed 19 of 44 passes (19 of 40 without the first-half clock-stopping spikes) for 264 yards and four touchdowns, with a pair of interceptions. Newman caught nine passes for 118 yards, Mangus three for 67 yards, Wilson three for 30, Walker two for 39 and Khan two for 10.

Mangus gained 114 yards rushing on 18 carries, and Crosby carried 16 times for 36 yards, including one sack.

Barney completed 12 of 24 passes for 176 yards with Butler catching six aerials for 68 yards. Hernandez carried the ball 14 times for 130 yards, Barney 17 times for 109 yards.

Crosby said he would like to thank the many fans, parents and students who supported the team this year.

“I’m grateful to the fans, cheerleaders and community for all of their support,” he said. “The crowds were great. We had a really good crowd Friday. I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the community rallies behind these boys.”

Big Horn will host Lyman in the semifinals of the Class 2A playoffs Friday at noon. Lyman beat Tongue River 14-13 at home Friday. The other semifinal features Torrington at Mountain View Friday at 1 p.m. Torrington beat Cokeville 21-14 Friday, and Mountain View beat Wheatland 41-6.