Bulldogs win battle of wills in Newcastle, 21-14

It was the ‘Dogs versus the Dogies Friday as the Lovell Bulldogs made the long trip to Weston County to take on the Newcastle Dogies in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

It was a battle of two physical teams on a windy afternoon as each squad attempted to impose their will on the other, but in the end, the Bulldogs prevailed 21-14.

“We’ve been a resilient group all year,” Coach Nicc Crosby said. “We’ve battled with injuries and other setbacks, and Friday was no exception. We ran into some bus issues that put us a little behind and caused me a little bit of anxiety. We got there a little bit later than I had hoped, with a little bit less time to warm up. And then it was windy as all get out, which greatly benefited them, because their passing game is about zero, and we had some great matchups that we wanted to exploit in the passing game that were very minimized.

“At first it was like a headwind and a tailwind, and then it turned into a crosswind. So half of your field just kind of gets taken away. So kind of some frustrating stuff there. And, you know, they got on the scoreboard first, and we had to battle and claw back. We were losing at halftime and found a way to shut them out in the second half and get on the board, get a two-point conversion.”

Back and forth

Newcastle took the opening kickoff and drove 86 yards to score with a relentless running game, capping the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick failed, and the home team led 6- 0.

Lovell then mounted a methodical 77-yard drive that took 18 plays, most of which were runs by senior Chase Crosby and Matthew Newman. On the first play of the second quarter, Crosby took a direct snap and, with quarterback Kyson Crosby lead blocking, powered for five yards and a touchdown. Newman booted the extra point, and Lovell led 7-6 early in the second quarter.

Back came Newcastle as the Dogies drove 65 yards to score. Lovell appeared to have the drive stopped, but on third and 11 at the Newcastle 47, the Dogies executed a screen pass that went down the left sideline 53 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion put Newcastle up 14-7.

Then it was Lovell’s turn, as the Bulldogs again went the distance to score, this time moving 76 yards in 15 plays as Chase Crosby carried the load once again and Kyson Crosby converted a key third down with a quarterback bootleg and then hit Newman for a 15-yard completion to the Dogie 5. Newman scored from there, and a failed two-point conversion left Newcastle up 14-13.

An exchange of interceptions led to the same score at intermission. Chase Crosby picked off Newcastle quarterback Teddy Troftgruben, and then Kyson Crosby was intercepted in the end zone.

“We were out of timeouts and fighting that wind and took a shot to the end zone,” Coach Crosby noted.

Defensive second half

The second half was a defensive battle for the most part.

“We got more aggressive with our run defense and adjusted our pass defense, and that paid some big dividends for us in the second half,” Coach Crosby said. “Offensively, we felt like we were kind of doing what we wanted to do, felt like we had moved the ball pretty well. We just needed to find a way to get a couple of stops.”

The Bulldogs drove into Newcastle territory on the first series of the second half, then punted to the Dogie 3. A solid Newcastle punt flipped the field to some extent for the Dogies, but Lovell drove 61 yards to take the lead. Chase Crosby broke free down the left sideline for 41 yards to the Dogie 16, then ran for 11 to the 5, setting up a one-yard quarterback sneak by Kyson Crosby, who then hit Owen Walker for the two-point conversion. Lovell led 21-14 with 4:39 to play in the third.

Newcastle drove to the Lovell 9, but on fourth and four, Newman picked off a pass and took it to the house, only to have the touchdown called back on a questionable block in the back call. The ensuing drive eventually stalled at the Newcastle 41 as the Bulldogs were stopped on fourth and one, turning the ball over on downs.

Attempting to tie the score or take the lead, the Dogies drove to the Lovell 29, but on third and five the snap from center sailed over the quarterback’s head. Senior Brody Muller was in on the quarterback in a flash as the QB fell on the ball, setting up a fourth and 15.

In an attempt to convert a first down, the Dogies fired the ball to the right, and freshman Mac Morgan jumped the route and picked off the pass at the 27, returning it to the Newcastle 40 with 39 seconds to play, sealing the win.

“I knew they’d be tougher than they had been,” Coach Crosby said. “These guys beat Thermopolis by one earlier in the year. They’re a physical team, and our kids hung around and found a way to win the dang thing. I’m really proud of them.”

Chase Crosby finished with 172 yards rushing on 30 carries, and Newman added 34 yards on seven carries, Kyson Crosby 17 yards on seven attempts. Kyson completed 3 of 10 passes for 42 yards, with Walker catching two passes for 27 yards and Newman one for 19.

Round two

Now 6-3 and riding a five-game winning streak, the Bulldogs will meet a conference foe in the second round of the playoffs, traveling to Mountain View to meet the undefeated Buffaloes, who topped the Bulldogs 21-12 on September 12 in Mountain View.

At 9-0, the Buffs are ranked second in Class 2A behind Big Horn and crushed Glenrock 79-20 Friday afternoon at home in their quarterfinal game. The Mountain View offense is operated by talented Justus Platts, who led Class 2A in passing at 178 yards per game heading into the playoffs with 24 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. His favorite target is Ashton Colangelo (#6), who finished the regular season with 39 receptions for 868 yards and 16 touchdowns. Kolby Roitz (#22) had 26 receptions for 339 yards through week eight.

“I think you’ve got to limit big plays with these guys,” Crosby said. “And they blow out a lot of teams, because they have big play potential. If we can make them have to get a few yards here and a few yards there, put some drives together and not just allow one big play and a 70-yard touchdown, that’s going to give us a chance. We’ve got to be able to move the ball on offense, keep our defense off the field a little bit and take care of the ball. We can’t afford turnovers.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in Mountain View.