Prior to kicking off against Dove Creek High School on Oct. 25, the Mancos High School football team knew it would face a tough test.
Sure enough, the Bulldogs proved to be a worthy opponent as they stormed to a 56-22 victory in front of their home crowd. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 4-5, while the Bluejays dropped to 2-7 with the loss.
"I felt like we played hard," said Mancos associate head coach Josh Gardner. The score isn't showing how hard we're playing.
According to Gardner, Axel Bonde, Nigel Henry and Everett Strazza-Whalen each scored one rushing touchdown for the Bluejays.
Leading the way for Dove Creek was senior running back Chance Randolph, who rushed for 377 yards and five touchdowns.
"(Randolph) is a real smooth runner," said Gardner. "He's shifty and he's hard to tackle. We weren't in position to tackle all night long."
With their season now complete, the Bluejays are looking ahead to an offseason program that will include optional weightlifting sessions and camps.
Discussing the future of the program, Gardner said that he hopes that it will be bright.
"I think we're going to look toward next year and hopefully be a lot better," said the coach. "We fixed a lot of problems this year. Now we just need to develop that winning culture where we expect to win."