Bulldogs drop nail-biter to Big Horn in season opener

In a battle between two evenly matched and familiar foes, the Lovell Bulldogs went toe to toe with the Big Horn Rams in the Lovell home opener at Robertson Stadium Friday evening, and although the Bulldogs played well, the Rams squeaked out a 28-24 win on a perfect late summer evening.

Just a few plays made the difference in the back-and-forth contest, and for the most part, Lovell head coach Nicc Crosby was pleased with his team’s efforts on both sides of the ball.

“When you play Big Horn, you’re always pretty worried about their explosive offense and how you can limit their big plays and make them have to work for what they get,” Crosby said. “In terms of our defensive scheme and executing that scheme, we did really well.

“I was very pleased with how our defensive ends contained their quarterback. I feel like our linebackers did well defending the pass and run, and our defensive backs executed the game plan well. There was one series on defense where we extended their drive on penalties.”

Crosby said the Lovell defense slowed Big Horn’s explosive offense for most of the game.

“They’re going to make some plays, but we didn’t want it to be easy, where they break containment and get 10 or 20 yards with the quarterback (Avon Barney) by being out of position,” he said. 

Offensively, Crosby said, the team moved the ball well most of the time and scored three touchdowns but needed to have managed the clock better before halftime so Big Horn didn’t have time to score.

“I’ll take the blame on that one,” he said.

Trading scores

Lovell kicked off and held Big Horn to 12 yards before a punt. The Bulldogs then drove 52 yards thanks to big runs by senior running back Braxton Felkins (19 yards) and senior quarterback Davin Crosby (22 yards). Then after Crosby hit Felkins for a 10-yard pass play, the Bulldogs were knocking on the door but stalled from there, and kicker Mikkel Kelpp booted a 28-yard field goal.

Big Horn returned the ensuing kickoff for 38 yards, then drove 53 yards to score thanks to the running of Cruz Hernandez and the catch-and-run ability of Bridger Doke. Hernandez eventually scored on an eight-yard run, and the PAT put Big Horn up 7-3 with 4:33 left in the first quarter.

The following Lovell series featured a “what-if” moment when Crosby nearly connected with junior receiver Matthew Newman on a deep ball. The two didn’t quite connect, and penalties also marred the series, leading to a punt.

Big Horn reached the Lovell 22 on the ensuing series, but the Bulldogs held, then drove 78 yards to score. A holding penalty called back a 65-yard run by Crosby, but Crosby hit Felkins for 19 yards to dig out of a second-and-18 hole, and once the team reached the red zone, Crosby scrambled and found Owen Walker from 19 yards out for a touchdown. The PAT put Lovell up 10-7 early in the second quarter (8:42).

Junior Chase Crosby picked off Barney deep in the Big Horn end of the field, and the Bulldogs scored quickly, with Crosby rewarded with a one-yard touchdown run. Lovell led 17-7.

The visiting Rams recovered from the turn of events to drive 80 yards for a touchdown. A blown coverage led to a 39-yard pass play for Big Horn, and when the Bulldogs twice appeared to have stopped the Rams, a facemask penalty and a roughing-the-passer penalty by the Bulldogs extended the drive, leading to a two-yard touchdown run by Barney. The PAT failed, but Big Horn was back in the game trailing 17-13 with 2:55 left in the first half.

Lovell appeared to have a strong drive going after the Ram touchdown, including a 20-yard pass to Felkins, but a holding penalty erased a nine-yard run by Chase Crosby. Two incomplete passes and a short punt of 20 yards set up a 60-yard scoring drive for Big Horn. A 29-yard pass from Barney to Daniel Walker in which Walker out-wrestled the ball away from Lovell defender Matthew Newman set up a two-yard run by Barney, and the PAT left Big Horn up 20-17 at halftime.

Second half

During halftime, coaches talked to players about second-half adjustments, and Coach Crosby said the offensive line recommended a slight change in the offense strategy.

“We asked about the plays we needed to run more, and they thought we needed to go under center and run some downhill running plays at them,” Crosby said.

The Bulldogs received the ball first in the second half and drove 77 yards to score, gaining yardage on a 22-yard pass to Walker, runs of seven and five yards by Chase Crosby and a 31-yard burst by Felkins. Davin Crosby scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak, and Lovell was back on top 24-20 midway through the third quarter (7:31).

Big Horn got one first down on the next series, and after a blitz and blast by linebacker Davin Crosby, the Rams punted to the Lovell five. The Bulldogs drove out of their own end and reached the Big Horn 39 before giving the ball over to the Rams on downs.

Big Horn then drove 61 yards to score thanks to strong running and a clutch completion from Barney to Dawson VanDyken. Barney scored from 10 yards out, and after an encroachment penalty on the Bulldogs, the Rams went for two and converted to gain a 28-24 lead with 7:27 left in the game.

The Bulldogs fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Newman intercepted Barney to end a Ram threat. Lovell started a drive with a seven-yard run by Chase Crosby and a 12-yard run by Felkins, but on the second play junior lineman Halen Strom injured his knee (a sprain) and left the game. The drive stalled at that point, and Lovell gave the ball up on downs at the Big Horn 41.

The Lovell defense rose up to thwart the Big Horn offense, with key hits by Davin Crosby and Kyle Wilson, leading to a punt to the Lovell 31. The Bulldogs mounted a furious “one-minute drive” as Davin Crosby hit Walker for 13 yards and 28 yards. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Big Horn 14 with 18.6 seconds left, but Crosby’s pass to Walker was intercepted in the end zone to halt the Lovell comeback.

“They had a single high safety, and we thought we could get the ball up and over (to Walker, 6-6) before the safety got there, but the ball needed to be deeper – an Owen-or-nobody ball,” Coach Crosby said.

Crosby said the team hit a brief lull when Strom left the game but came back strong.

“Any time you see one of your teammates go down with what looks like a serious injury, it takes away your momentum, but we did a good job rallying back and giving ourselves
a chance,” Crosby said. “Our defense was lights out and gave us a chance to win. I was proud of how they battled through that.

“There were lots of encouraging signs last week. Despite shooting ourselves in the foot, we had an opportunity to win at the end of the game. That’s a sign of perseverance. It was really encouraging to see the guys pick each other up out there. They’re a very resilient group, and that was on full display Friday night.”

Lovell out-gained Big Horn 375-292, unofficially. Davin Crosby hit 12 of 24 passes for 197 yards, and the Bulldogs gained 178 yards on the ground led by Felkins, who gained 65 yards on just five carries. Davin Crosby gained 62 yards on 15 carries, Chase Crosby 43 yards on 12 attempts. Walker caught six passes for 111 yards, Felkins four for 51 yards, Owen Edwards one for 21 yards and Newman one for 14.

Barney connected on 10 of 20 passes for Big Horn for 155 yards, and Hernandez led the running attack with 100 yards on 22 carries. Doke caught four passes for 82 yards.

Davin Crosby led the Bulldogs in defensive points with 27 defensive points on seven assisted tackles, six unassisted tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack and one forced fumble. Chase Crosby added 21 points on 10 assisted tackles, three solo tackles and an interception. Newman had 16 defensive points, Felkins 13.

Conference opener

The Bulldogs will host a strong Mountain View team Friday night for the two teams’ conference opener. Mountain View went 10-1 a year ago including a 36-28 win over the Bulldogs, losing to Torrington in the semifinals. The Buffalos opened the season last week with a 28-0 win over Rich County, Utah.

The Buffalos return a talented quarterback in Justus Platts, who has similar skills to Big Horn quarterback Barney.

“I expect Mountain View to be right there in the mix at the end of the season,” Crosby said. “They graduated some key contributors, but their quarterback is back. He’s an extremely dynamic quarterback. He doesn’t have as big an arm (as Barney), but he’s a lot quicker and keeps plays alive with his feet to run himself or find someone downfield.”