Bison get the better of the Dogies

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
For the second week in a row, the Dogies wrangled with the Bison on the gridiron, and also for the second time, the Dogies ended the night scoreless. This time it was the 3A Buffalo Bison who left Newcastle with a 38-0 win.
“You know, we had another good first half, and if we could ever figure out how to put four quarters together, we’ll be dangerous,” declared head coach Matt Conzelman. “We had some miscues and some errors in the second half, and we just can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Offensively the Dogies were much improved over their zero week contest against the Bison of Hot Springs, S.D. In that game, Newcastle didn’t pick up a first down until the third quarter, however, on Friday they were able to do so right away.
In addition, after completing only one pass against Hot Springs, quarterback Slade Roberson was able to complete six of 10 pass attempts for 31 yards. Total yardage on the night was still less than head coach Matt Conzelman would like to see as they only gained 59 yards on the ground. 
“We had some chances to get in the end zone and, overall, if you look at both games we did improve over the week. That’s the name of the game to improve and be playing your best football by the end of the season,” Conzelman determined. “It’s exciting that we are improving and that we will start conference play this week. We just need to iron some things out, and then I think we’ll be good to go.”
The Bison got on the board with 1:44 left on the clock in the first quarter, however the Dogies were able to hold them off for the remainder of the first half to go into the break down only 0-7.
Two significant defensive moments in the second quarter included a pivotal interception by Quint Perino in the Dogie end zone with 6:21 to go, and then a strong defensive stand where the team turned Buffalo over on downs in the red zone with only 49 seconds left remaining on the clock.
“I was really pleased with our defense and we had a couple of stands where we just dug our heels in and refused to let them in,” Conzelman nodded. “I told them not to worry about the scoreboard because some of that was on me, like deciding to go for it on fourth down, and different things like that.”
Continuing into the third quarter, the Dogies forced a fumble in the red zone with 9:40 on the clock and Roberson was able to recover the ball for the team. However, things started to go off the rails for Newcastle during their ensuing offensive possession when they gave up a safety which resulted from a bad snap on a punt attempt inside the Dogie’s end zone.
“I told Dylan [McFarlin] that if for some reason, something went haywire to kick it out of the back of the end zone so we’d give up two points rather than six,” Conzelman explained. “Things did go bad with the snap, and so he did what I told him to do and they got the two points.”
The safety occurred at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter, but it was followed by another strong defensive stand which forced Buffalo to punt the ball. Unfortunately, Holden McConkey touched the ball but couldn’t control it and Buffalo was able to recover possession, ultimately scoring again to extend their lead to 16-0 with 4:46 remaining in the quarter. 
“If we could have got one in the end zone I think it would have changed things. Even if we’d have been able to score when we were down 16-0, it would have put the game in reach,” Conzeman stated. “We’re right there and the players know that they are close. We just need to fix some errors and go from there.”
Another quick Dogie turnover allowed the Bison to get another one in the end zone a couple of minutes later, and with a successful two-point conversion, Buffalo went up 24-0. The hits kept coming when the Dogies turned the ball over on downs giving the Johnson County squad the ball on the Newcastle 21-yard line with 15 seconds left in the third.
Buffalo was able to segue that turnover into yet another TD just 37 seconds into the final frame. A penalty that backed the Bison up 15 yards forced a 31-yard PAT attempt which the kicker impressively put through the uprights, gave Buffalo a 31-0 lead. 
The Bison made yet another run at the goal, but the Dogie defense held them out so they settled for a field goal with 4:56 remaining, pushing their lead to 38-0.
Despite the loss, the Dogies definitely had some bright moments throughout the contest. 
McConkey was a difference maker on defense, especially in the second half of play. He was reading the plays very well and consistently thwarted the Bison’s run game on the inside forcing them to go to the air or around the outside. 
“He’s just slippery and you can hardly get him blocked,” Conzelman boasted. “He slices and dices and had a great game with 22 points on defense.” 
The team only had two five-yard penalties throughout the contest, which bodes well for the squad, and Conzelman also noted that the offense was quite a bit faster getting to the line and getting the play off than they had been in their first game. 
Buffalo, on the other hand, gave up quite a few yards and a few first downs due to penalties totaling 65 yards.
This week, the Dogies open up conference play as they take on the Patriots in Sundance with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. This is a change from the original schedule due to trouble with staffing officials for the game.
“They got a big win in Lead-Deadwood and they are going to be coached really well and will give great effort,” Conzelman predicted. “They graduated quite a few from last season, so we are going to look at film and prep for them. They will have some pretty good speed so we will need to rock and roll.”