Bulldogs cruise at Worland thanks to total team effort
The Lovell Bulldogs knew they would have a tough task on their hands when they traveled to Worland Friday for a critical conference game. The formerly Class 3A Warriors were 3-1 and ranked third in 2A coming into the game, loaded with seniors and playing at home.
No problem.
The Bulldogs took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter, led 21-7 at halftime and carried the day 28-7, improving to 3-2 on the season with three straight wins, 3-1 in the 2A West.
“It was a really great team victory, one of the better regular season team victories since I’ve been here,” Lovell head coach Nicc Crosby said. “There were so many people contributing in a number of different ways.
“We had some guys dinged up during the game on defense and had players fill in and do a great job. If our offense sputtered a little bit, the defense came up with a big stop, and our offense was able to flip the field when Worland seemed to be getting a little traction.”
The Bulldogs won the pre-game coin toss and elected to receive. The strategy worked as the Bulldogs drove 80 yards to score, employing a crisp passing attack that had the Warriors playing on their heels.
“We wanted to see if we could get some points and take the momentum right away,” Coach Crosby said. “We were clearly able to do that, and the defense got the ball back immediately, so we got some more points.”
Senior quarterback found Matthew Newman and Owen Walker for gains on the opening drive and also had some luck when a pass glanced off Newman’s hands and into the waiting arms of running back Chase Crosby for a gain.
Davin Crosby then found Walker down the right side at about the 2-yard line, and he turned and scored for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Backup kicker Owen Hill, filling in for Mikkel Klepp, who was out of town, booted the PAT, and Lovell led 7-0.
When the Warriors had their turn on offense, they fumbled on the first play from the line of scrimmage when end Kyle Wilson tore the ball free and Newman recovered in the secondary. The Bulldogs had the ball at the Worland 37. A holding penalty set them back 10 yards, but on the next play Davin Crosby found Newman over the middle on a wide receiver screen and he turned and burned to the end zone for a 47-yard scoring play. Lovell led 14-0.
“Our line blocked that up really well,” Coach Crosby said. “There was a nice seam, and he (Newman) made a nice cutback and took it to the house.”
Davin Crosby was 7 of 9 passing on the first two series of the game for 108 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs attacked the Worland defense through the air.
“Worland really likes to play with a five-man front, and we wanted to be able to exploit that and use it to our advantage in the passing game,” Coach Crosby said.
After the initial scoring burst, the two teams settled into a bit of a defensive battle as Crosby worked on some things offensively and the Lovell defense remained strong. Worland punted three times, Lovell twice, before the Bulldogs mounted a 73-yard drive late in the second quarter to go up by three touchdowns.
Senior Parker Steenbakkers took over in the Lovell backfield and carried the ball four consecutive times to get the drive rolling. Davin Crosby hit Newman for 15 yards, then Davin and cousin Chase Crosby ran for seven and six yards, respectively. Facing fourth and 10 at the Worland 27, Davin Crosby evaded the Worland pass rush and hit Owen Edwards for a 13-yard gain, setting up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Crosby to Walker. Lovell led 21-0 with 38 seconds left.
Lovell’s only defensive letdown followed the touchdown as Worland quarterback Colt Weber went deep over the top to Will Slagle for a 39-yard scoring pass. Lovell took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Crosby said he did take the foot off the gas pedal a bit after the early 14-0 lead, but he also wanted to work on some things offensively.
“I wanted to accomplish a couple of things,” he said. “We had Chase banged up, and Parker didn’t have as much experience in a couple of sets. But I also wanted to challenge the offensive line to see if we could establish the run. We went to a heavy formation to establish the line of scrimmage and give Parker a chance to run. We also wanted to work the clock a little bit and keep their offense out of sync and play keep-away.”
Second half
Worland’s longest drive of the game took place early in the third quarter as the Warriors drove 68 yards to the Lovell 16, but Davin Crosby snuffed the drive by intercepting an aerial from backup quarterback Masen Decker.
Lovell had the ball at the four and drove the ball out to the 40 before punting. The Lovell defense then pushed the home team back to the 31 with junior Cash Wassmer sacking Decker on third down.
Having flipped the field, Lovell then drove 76 yards to score as Steenbakkers, Newman and Chase Crosby worked the ground game and Davin Crosby hit some timely passes. Senior fullback Braxton Felkins scored the final touchdown on a four-yard run to the left side that saw him deftly dodge a Worland defender. Lovell led 28-7 with three minutes left and went on to win by the same score after thwarting a final Worland drive.
Crosby was pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“The main thing defensively was our defensive line and linebackers,” he said. “They really set the tone. That’s the most production we’ve had from our defensive line in terms of tackling and being consistent. Our linebackers were aggressive and filling holes. They met the Worland runners at the line of scrimmage instead of five yards down the field.
“We schemed well and executed well, and our defensive backfield (played well) outside of a couple of plays.”
Davin Crosby completed 17 of 26 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Newman caught 11 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown, Walker four for 59 yards and two scores, Edwards one for 13 and Chase Crosby one for four. Worland quarterbacks completed 8 of 19 passes for 93 yards.
Lovell rushed for 135 yards, Worland 56. Steenbakkers carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards, Newman four times for 32 yards, Chase Crosby six for 28 and Felkins three for 27.
“I’m very, very proud of the boys and how they came together,” Coach Crosby said. “Our effort and execution was so much more consistent than it has been all year.
“The players commented on how fun the environment was. A shout out to all of the fans who went down there. We had a really good Lovell contingent in the seats, and that was much appreciated.”
Home game
The Bulldogs will host the Pinedale Wranglers Friday for a 6 p.m. kickoff. Pinedale is 1-4 on the season with a 48-12 win over Rawlins and losses to Kemmerer (31-12), Worland (52-0), Cokeville (51-8) and Mountain View (48-0).
“This is a great week for us to keep our momentum,” Crosby said. “We’re looking to improve on some of the little things we’ve struggled with, clean up some things and keep taking steps in the right direction.
“Pinedale runs a spread (offense) and has a quarterback who’s a pretty accurate passer. They have some athletes, and they’ve done a lot of good things but have shot themselves in the foot and turned the ball over. They can be a dangerous team if they take care of the ball better and execute more consistently.”
The Lovell JVs host Pinedale Saturday at 9 a.m.