Red hot Bulldogs win fifth straight at Kemmerer

Continuing their midseason surge, the Lovell Bulldogs made the long trip to Kemmerer Friday and came away with a convincing win over a solid Ranger team, 34-13, their fifth consecutive win.

The Bulldogs built a 28-0 halftime lead, then added a fifth touchdown in the third quarter to lead 34-0 before Kemmerer scored a pair of late touchdowns.

“We played pretty darn well,” head coach Nicc Crosby said. “I was quite pleased with our defensive effort overall. We controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part and implemented our game plan very well. One of their scores came after we started subbing, and the other came against our JV players.

“Offensively, we’re still looking for some more consistency with our play. In certain situations we took a step or two back from what we had been performing. We need to run the ball more consistently, but part of that was the number of defenders Kemmerer committed to the box, which really did open up the passing game. We were able to take advantage of that.”

Lovell recovered an opening squib kickoff and drove 54 yards to score. Running plays set up a 33-yard pass from Davin Crosby to Owen Walker to the Kemmerer 4-yard line, and Crosby hit Matthew Newman on a four-yard touchdown pass on second and goal. Lovell took an early 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs drove to the Ranger 36 on their next possession but gave the ball up on downs, but after a defensive stop and a Kemmerer punt, the Lovell offense drove 60 yards to score again. Crosby continued to connect with his receivers – Owen Edwards, Chase Crosby, Newman and Walker – and the senior signal caller finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Newman – 14-0 Lovell.

Kemmerer launched a drive on the ensuing series, advancing to the Lovell 21 before the Ranger fortunes changed. On second and one from the 21 early in the second quarter, the Kemmerer quarterback tried a bubble screen pass to the right, but linebacker Davin Crosby stepped in front of the pass and raced 73 yards to score on a pick six. Lovell led 21-0. It was Crosby’s third interception of the season.

“He just read it, jumped it and was off to the races,” Coach Crosby said.

There was no more scoring until late in the half when the Bulldogs took advantage of a fumbled punt to add one more touchdown before intermission. After starting at the Kemmerer 25, Lovell faced second down at the 22 when Crosby found Newman to the left side and the junior turned and scored. Lovell led 28-0.

The Bulldogs scored one more time late in the third quarter. Crosby found fullback Braxton Felkins down the right sideline, and the senior deftly made two Kemmerer defenders miss tackles before dashing to the end zone for a score. The PAT was blocked, but Lovell led 34-0.

Kemmerer finally scored early in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass (PAT failed) to trail 34-6 and added a final score on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the final minute.

Davin Crosby completed 20 of 30 passes in the game for 311 yards and four touchdowns, freshman brother Kyson Crosby one of one for 24 yards. Newman caught six passes for 57 yards and three touchdowns, Walker five for 111 yards, Chase Crosby three for 46 yards, Edwards three for 41, Felkins two for 52 and a score, Nathan Cornia one for 24 yards and Parker Steenbakkers one for four.

Felkins led the team with 22 defensive points on 10 assisted tackles, five solo tackles and two tackles for a loss. Newman finished with 11 defensive points, Davin Crosby and Cash Wassmer 10 points each.

Cokeville game

The always tough Cokeville Panthers come to town Friday for the regular season finale, with the winner clinching a home playoff game and the loser hitting the road for the first round. Both Lovell and Cokeville are 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the 2A West, each falling only to Mountain View in league play. Lovell fell to Big Horn in week one, Cokeville to West Jefferson High School in Terreton, Idaho.

Asked about the key to small-enrollment Cokeville’s success, Coach Crosby noted, “They play harder than anybody else from the snap of the ball to the whistle. They go, go, go, go.

“Offensively, they like to control the clock and run the football, and they try to catch you sleeping with play action passes. They have a solid line, tough runners, a solid quarterback and some skilled receivers to throw to. They run a 4-4 defense, and we expect to see more man coverage against our receivers.”

Kickoff for senior night is scheduled for 6 p.m.