Bulldogs rock Pinedale for fourth straight win

The Lovell Bulldogs are on a roll. A week after clicking on all cylinders in a big win at Worland, the team continued to hum along Friday, clobbering the Pinedale Wranglers 46-7 for their fourth consecutive win.

Now 4-2 overall, 4-1 in the 2A West, the Bulldogs will travel to Kemmerer Friday in a quest to clinch a playoff spot and keep hopes for a home playoff game alive.

“It was a pretty good performance overall,” head coach Nicc Crosby said. “I feel like we executed pretty well offensively and defensively, and we had some great individual performances on both sides of the ball. I do feel at times we were a little lackadaisical. We’re trying to be consistent with our effort, our focus and our attention to detail.

“We’re definitely pleased with the direction we’re heading and want to keep making strides as we wrap up the regular season and prepare for the postseason.”

The Bulldogs played without two offensive weapons in junior running back Chase Crosby and junior receiver Matthew Newman, and junior lineman Halen Strom has been out since the beginning of the season.

“We should be able to get at least two, if not all, of them back this week,” Coach Crosby said. “We’re really excited about that. Good health is always a bonus and is especially important as you head down the final stretch.”

The Bulldogs had the ball for nine series against Pinedale and scored seven touchdowns as players stepped in for Newman and Chase Crosby. One of the players who stepped up was senior Parker Steenbakkers, who returned the opening kickoff 43 yards to the Pinedale 40, had a huge punt return and scored on a long touchdown dash.

“Parker’s special teams play has been solid all year, and we’ve been running  him in one of our formations,” Crosby said. ”With Chase out, he had more opportunities on Friday and took advantage of them.”

Big first half

After Steenbakkers’ initial kickoff return, the Bulldogs scored in eight plays. Senior quarterback Davin Crosby converted a third and nine with an 11-yard completion to Owen Edwards, then hit Owen Walker for 19 yards on a screen pass to the 9. Four plays later, Crosby hit Walker in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass. A two-point run failed, and Lovell led 6-0.

Pinedale gained two first downs on the Wranglers’ first possession, and Lovell went three and out after receiving the punt with Pinedale sacking Crosby on third and five. Pinedale had the ball in Lovell territory after a 17-yard punt return by Kolby Jaquez, but Lovell senior linebacker Braxton Felkins hit Pinedale running back Cale Dauwen for a four-yard loss on first down, and when the Wranglers went for it on fourth and nine, Cash Wassmer executed a perfect open-field tackle on receiver Ryder Siefkes on a pass play, leaving Pinedale four yards short of a first down.

Lovell drove 63 yards to score, and Wassmer was rewarded for his tackle by snaring a Crosby aerial in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Mikkel Klepp kicked the PAT, and Lovell led 13-0 early in the second quarter.

“Cash is really coming into his own,” Crosby said. “He performed well defensively for the second week in a row and made a really good catch in the end zone.”

A Pinedale fumble on the ensuing series left Lovell with a short field at the Wrangler 24, and the Bulldogs scored their third touchdown soon after. Felkins got the drive started with a blast up the middle for 16 yards, and Crosby hit senior tight end Jarrett Allen for a three-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick missed, but Lovell led 19-0 midway through the second quarter.

A nice tackle by Cayden Fink on the ensuing kickoff buried the Wranglers deep at their own 9. Then facing fourth and one at the 18, Pinedale went for it and Wassmer and Crosby hit Sergio Duate-Villa for a loss.

Lovell scored in four plays, with Crosby hitting Walker for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick was true, and Lovell led 26-0.

Lovell scored a fifth touchdown late in the half, set up by a 36-yard punt return by Steenbakkers. On the next play, Crosby found Walker deep down the right sideline for a pretty, over-the-top catch and run for a 39-yard scoring pass. Lovell went into halftime with a 33-0 lead.

Pulling away

Pinedale gained a pair of first downs on chunk plays early in the third quarter, but then the Bulldog defense stiffened. Following a Pinedale punt, the explosive Bulldogs scored in one play, a 58-yard burst around left end by the speedy Steenbakkers. The two-point run failed, and Lovell led 39-0 midway through the third.

“A lot of people will talk about that really good run, but really the punt return (in the second quarter) was the most impressive,” Crosby said. “There was a guy not that far away from him (after catching the punt), and he got to the sideline, picked up blockers and put us in good field position.

“He’s been working hard and caught a couple of passes for us, as well. It was a well-rounded game for him.”

Pinedale put together the team’s best drive of the game on the following series and reached the Lovell 9, aided by a pair of facemask penalties. The Bulldog defense
held, and the Lovell offense took over at the 6-yard line.

Lovell put together an impressive 94-yard drive to score a final touchdown. Crosby went 18 yards on a quarterback keeper, then hit Walker for 23 and 19 yards. He hit Steenbakkers over the middle for 19 yards and ran for 19 yards on a busted play. Senior Talon Burton scored from a yard out, boosting
the Lovell lead to 46-0 early in the fourth quarter and initiating the running clock.

The Wranglers launched their only scoring drive, capping the series with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ian Rigo to Quincy Mika, making the final score 46-7.

Lovell outgained Pinedale 341-243 in total offense led by Crosby, who completed 15 of 22 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns. Walker caught six passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns, Steenbakkers two passes for 30 yards, Edwards two for 23 and Felkins two for 5 yards. Wassmer caught one 23-yard touchdown pass, Allen one three-yard TD toss.

Steenbakkers led the ground attack for the Bulldogs with 72 yards on six carries, and Crosby added 46 yards on 10 attempts. Lovell rushed for 136 yards and passed for 205, and Pinedale rushed for 153 yards and passed for 90.

Crosby led the team with 15 defensive points on four assisted tackles, two unassisted tackles, two tackles for a loss, one pass block and one forced fumble. Felkins added 14 points on 12 assisted tackles and two tackles for a loss. Also in double figures were Wassmer at 10.5 defensive points and Kasey Jordan with 10.

JV win

The Lovell junior varsity football team concluded the 2024 season with a 45-14 win over Pinedale Saturday morning as the Bulldogs outscored the visitors from Sublette County 91-21 in two games. No details were available for the game.

Road trip

The Bulldogs will make the long trip to Kemmerer Friday for a 6 p.m. conference kickoff. The Rangers, at 3-3 overall and 2-3 in conference play, are a salty team with wins over Moorcroft 50-6, Pinedale 31-12 and Lyman 26-22 and losses to Thermopolis 14-10, Mountain View 49-0 and Cokeville 20-16.

“Over the last couple of years they’ve been getting consistently better,” Crosby said. “Turnovers have gotten in their way in terms of achieving their potential. They were inside the
10 twice against Cokeville and failed to score and another time inside the 15.

“They run a lot of wing T stuff on offense, and their quarterback (Kyle Fox) is a pretty good runner and passer. They have some good running threats and a couple of receivers who make big plays for them. They’re a 4-4 team on defense.”

It’s looking like a chilly evening in Kemmerer Friday, with a daytime high of 35 degrees and an 80 percent chance of precipitation.