Before to his team's game against Salida on Sept. 19, Dolores head coach Chris Trusler knew that his team would face a tough test.

Sure enough, the Bears were challenged from start to finish, losing 36-7 on their home field.

Highlighting the contest for the Bears was the play of senior linebacker Kellen Gatzke, who, flying from sideline to sideline, recorded 22 total tackles.

"(Kellen) was all over the field," said Dolores head coach Chris Trusler. "He was able to get off blocks and make tackles. He is second in the state in tackles right now."

Also playing well for the Bears was junior Branden Donaldson, who recovered two fumbles and scored the Bears lone touchdown after catching a pass from Jalen Balderrama and racing 77 yards for the score.

"Branden Donaldson is just a good all-around athlete," said Trusler. "Anywhere we put him on the field, he's going to make an impact."

Ultimately however, Salida's power-rushing attack proved too much for Dolores to overcome however, as the Spartans jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime and never looked back.

According to Trusler however, the Bears ability to remain competitive with Salida was encouraging.

"The kids did pretty good," said the Dolores coach. "We didn't have too much to complain about. We just couldn't match up with Salida's size on the line."

With their record now at 2-2 on the season, the Bears are preparing for a road matchup against Centauri on Sept. 26. The game will begin at 7 p.m.

"(Centauri) finished second in the state last year, so that's always going to be a tough game for us," said Trusler. "We're focused on conditioning and trying to eliminate some mental errors. Hopefully we can get a win."