Bulldogs outlast Pinedale in ground and pound battle

Battling for a playoff spot, the Lovell Bulldogs made the long trip to Pinedale Friday and came out with a win over the gritty Wranglers, 34-27.

Pinedale gashed the Lovell defense for 400 yards rushing and added 36 yards through the air, while Lovell was just as potent, rushing for 368 yards and passing for 45.

“I guess in most football games where one team is very successful on the ground, it’s a matter of their kind of imposing their will on the opponent. It’s quite rare for both teams to have the amount of success running the ball that we both did,” head coach Nicc Crosby said. “Obviously, a lot of good things were happening offensively this week for us to be able to control the time of possession the way we did and move the ball on the ground. And defensively, we had our moments, but it’s continuing to be a challenge for us to consistently stop the run.

“They did a good job of running away from (Halen Strom), and we’ve got some work to do as a defense, just in terms of X‘s and O’s and defensive technique and reading our keys. I feel like we played hard on both sides of the ball. We just have a ways to go to slow down a running game that’s proven to be effective.”

Lovell took the opening kickoff and moved the ball for two first downs before punting to the Pinedale 5-yard line. The Wranglers then drove 95 yards in just four plays including an opening 45-yard burst, a 30-yard counter and a 21-yard touchdown run by Ian Rigo. Pinedale led 7-0.

Lovell responded with a 60-yard scoring drive that included a 33-yard burst by Matthew Newman and was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Newman. The game was knotted 7-7.

Pinedale took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Lovell 39, but on fourth and three the Bulldog defense blew up a counter play, giving the Bulldogs the ball on downs.

The Bulldogs drove 56 yards to score. Newman got the series rolling with a 29-yard run, and Cash Wassmer capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. Lovell led 14-7 early in the second quarter.

“They were really giving us good looks early on, but we just didn’t execute and take advantage on our first offensive possession,” Crosby said. “But after they scored as quickly as they did, I wanted to see what we could do to control the clock and keep their offense off the field. And our team responded very well, really, the rest of the game.”

The Lovell defense again gave up some yardage but in bend-but-don’t-break fashion stopped the Wranglers at the Bulldog 45 with a blitz on fourth and 10 that went for a six-yard loss. The Bulldogs then drove 55 yards to score. With Coach Crosby keeping the ball on the ground, Newman gained 14, Chase Crosby nine and Newman four. The Bulldogs kept pounding away until, on fourth and two, Newman scored on a seven-yard run. Lovell led 21-7 with 1:52 left in the first half.

Going to a two-minute drill, Pinedale scored in six plays, aided by a curious late-hit penalty. After an eight-yard touchdown run by Quincy Mika, Owen Walker got a piece of the PAT kick, which missed leaving Lovell up 21-13 at halftime.

Second-half drama

Perhaps the biggest play of the game took place on the first series of the second half. Pinedale took the kickoff and drove to the Lovell 10. The Bulldog defense blew up a first-and-goal play, and as the Pinedale back struggled for yardage, Newman stole the ball out of his hands and raced 85 yards to pay dirt. Lovell kicked the PAT but was not allowed to “take the points” when Pinedale jumped offsides. Given a shorter field, Lovell tried for two and fell short but led 27-13.

A 52-yard run on the ensuing series took Pinedale to the Lovell 12, but the Bulldogs held, and Pinedale gave the ball up on downs. The Bulldogs drove 84 yards to score again, biting off large chunks of yardage with a strong ground game before Chase Crosby went through left guard for a three-yard touchdown run, and Lovell had a 34-13 lead late in the third quarter.

Pinedale completed a 65-yard drive to cut the lead to 34-21 early in the fourth quarter (two-point conversion good), and after a Bulldog fumble, the Wranglers scored on the next play, a 20-yard run, to chop the lead to 34-27 as Walker rose high to block the PAT.

Lovell then consumed the final nine minutes of the game clock with a methodical drive that moved the ball from the Lovell 27 to the Pinedale 19 before the Bulldogs went into the victory formation to close out the game.

“That was a great series,” Crosby said. “We were just not wanting to let them get it again. We didn’t have very many answers (on defense), and we just grinded it out, did a really good job.”

Newman finished with 182 yards rushing on 25 carries, and Chase Crosby rushed for 161 yards on 27 attempts. Wassmer carried once for 13 yards, Kyson Crosby three times for 12 yards. Kyson completed five of six passes for 45 yards, two to Newman for 21 yards, one to Chase Crosby for 14 and one to Walker for 10.

Senior night

The Bulldogs will host the Kemmerer Rangers for senior night Friday at 5 p.m. The Rangers have struggled this year so far, playing to a 1-5 record with their only win over Moorcroft in week one, 22-16. Since then, they have lost by multiple touchdowns to Pinedale, Thermopolis, Mountain View, Lyman and Cokeville.

“It’s a bit of a rebuilding year for them,” Crosby said. “They lost some key guys, but they certainly come out and play hard every week. They’re primarily a run-game (team) and then play action pass. Their quarterback has improved throughout the year and has really made some good plays. His receivers haven’t always helped him that much, but if he’s going to put the ball there consistently, that’s something we certainly have got to worry about, because he’s pretty accurate.

“They’ve done a pretty good job defensively. They’re a bit undersized, so we ought to be able to take advantage of that. We’re definitely more skilled and have a little bit more speed, so there are certainly some things we can exploit there.”

If the Bulldogs win, they will be 4-2 in conference play and will clinch a playoff berth, holding the tiebreaker over 2-3 Pinedale. Cokeville is also 4-2, setting up a likely battle for the third seed next week when the Bulldogs close out the regular season at Cokeville.