Bulldogs clobber Worland in best performance so far

Beset by injuries and youth at key positions early in the season, the Lovell Bulldogs played their most complete game of the season Friday and picked up a key conference win over the Worland Warriors at home 28-3.

The Bulldogs led from start to finish, dominating on defense producing a balanced offensive attack to control the game. Head coach Nicc Crosby said it was a welcome performance from his squad.

“That was easily our most complete game of the year,” Crosby said. “We got great production from our offense, defense and special teams. We had zero turnovers and had two rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown and a special teams touchdown. … I was very pleased. There are always some things that we can work on and definitely some things to clean up on both sides of the ball and special teams, but it was still a very good performance.”

The Bulldog defense held Worland to 43 total yards – 39 rushing and 4 passing – and forced seven punts.

Crosby said the team has put together back-to-back weeks of good practices and has been playing with a sense of urgency.

“I feel like our seniors have embraced their leadership roles more and are getting more out of their teammates at practice and in the games, too.”

Senior running back Chase Crosby was injured early in the Thermopolis game the week before and ran with a vengeance this week, finishing with 92 yards rushing on 15 carries with two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 26 yards.

“I think that’s the best he’s done at running back since he’s been here,” Coach Crosby said.

Senior lineman Halen Strom also returned to the lineup, playing just on defense this week.

“He felt really, really good,” Crosby said. “He played more than at first I thought he was going to be able to and was begging to play more.”

Also returning this week was an effective passing attack as sophomore quarterback Kyson Crosby completed 10 of 16 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. Coach Crosby said establishing a strong running game helped take the pressure off the passing game.

Strong start

Lovell took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards to score. Senior Matthew Newman picked up a key first down on fourth and 1 with a nine-yard run, Chase Crosby ran for nine more and senior Cash Wassmer, taking the snap at quarterback, dashed 40 yards around left end to the Worland 3-yard line. Chase Crosby punched it in from there, and though the PAT missed, Lovell led 6-0.

“We have a really big emphasis on establishing the run, and we had that out of the gate,” Coach Crosby said. “The first two plays weren’t too encouraging, but on third down we got enough yards to make us feel like we could go for it on fourth. Cash was able to break a long one on the naked boot, and we were able to punch that in. So it felt good getting our running game going.

“We want to find ways, too, that we can pass the ball out of more traditional running sets, just so teams can’t load up the box on us too much. We got a few quick hitters in the passing game on some of those heavier run sets, which was encouraging.”

A fake punt that didn’t convert to first down gave Worland a short field, and the Warriors booted a 39-yard field goal, trimming Lovell’s lead to three points, however, Wassmer went the distance on the ensuing kickoff, racing 95 yards to pay dirt. Newman ran in the two-point conversion, and Lovell led 14-3 early in the second quarter.

Later in the half, the Bulldogs drove 53 yards to score again as Kyson Crosby hit Newman for 13 yards, Chase Crosby ran for nine and Wassmer gained eight up the middle, setting up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Newman as Kyson Crosby found the senior slicing across the middle for a score on a play coaches drew up that week.

“It’s fun when a plan comes together and it’s specifically dialed up this week for those guys, and the kids executed really well,” Coach Crosby noted.

Lovell led 21-3 at halftime and added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter as a 32-yard run by Chase Crosby led to a one-yard touchdown run for the senior, giving Lovell a 28-3 lead with 5:51 left in the game, which ended up being the final score.

Lovell outgained Worland 272-43 in a dominant defensive performance.

“Our defensive line and linebackers were really solid, a lot more gap sound this week,” Crosby said. “Our tackling was improved, though we still have some work to do. I’d still like to see us break down and come to balance, wrap up lower more consistently, but there were definitely some steps in the right direction.

“We had a pretty good crowd on Friday night, as well, which helped out the energy of the players. So we appreciate the fans showing up and keeping our guys fired up out there. That was nice.”

After Chase Crosby’s 92 yards rushing, Wassmer added 46 yards on 11 carries, Newman 35 yards on six carries. Gunner Mascaro led Worland with 52 yards on 20 carries.

Newman caught three Crosby aerials for 43 yards, Owen Edwards two for seven yards, Owen Walker one for five, Wassmer one for three and Mac Morgan one for two.

Road trip to Pinedale

Now 2-3 overall, 2-2 in the 2A West, the Bulldogs will make the long journey to meet the 3-2 Pinedale Wranglers in a key game for playoff possibilities. The Wranglers beat Rawlins 40-6, Kemmerer 50-15 and Worland 13-7, then fell to Cokeville 30-7 and Mountain View 41-14.

Crosby said the Wranglers are an improved team this season and employ a triple-option attack similar to Thermopolis. Top threats are running backs Logan Emery and Sergio Duarte-Villa, both of whom are averaging 100 yards per game.

Kickoff in Pinedale Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the junior varsity squad is scheduled to meet Pinedale Saturday at 9 a.m. before the team heads home.

The Bulldogs will host Kemmerer for senior night the following Friday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m.