By the time the fourth quarter ended on Sept. 26, the Dove Creek High School football team trailed Hoehne 46-6.
According to Bulldogs head coach Shane Baughman however, Dove Creek’s latest road loss was far closer than the scoreboard indicated.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” said Baughman. “Dove Creek can definitely play with Hoehne. “We’d move the ball and then get a late hit or turn the ball over. It was frustrating.”
In all, the Dove Creek offense had 13 first downs in the contest, while Hoehne had just seven. Three long touchdowns by Hoehne helped put Dove Creek in a 38-0 by halftime however, and the Bulldogs never recovered.
“They had three plays for 275 yards,” said Baughman. “Other than those three plays, we were even with them.”
Leading the Bulldogs offensively with 61 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards and a third-quarter receiving touchdown running back Chance Randolph, who, according to Baughman, played well especially early in the contest.
“Chance ran the ball pretty solid,” said the Dove Creek head coach. “I think he’s hitting the hold harder now. Hoehne was just very good at getting off the ball and staying low. They won the battle on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
On defense, the Bulldogs were led by Case Baughman, who had a team-high eight tackles.
With their record now at 1-4 on the season, Dove Creek will prepare for a home matchup against Del Norte (1-5) on Oct. 3. The game will begin at 6 p.m.
“(Del Norte) was 11-man last year,” said Baughman. They beat Mancos 24-14 earlier this year. They’re going to be a pretty decent opponent.”