Dogies blast Wolves 46–6, set up showdown with Burns
Newcastle handled business in blustery conditions Friday night, blasting Moorcroft 46-6 to move to 4-1 in the 3A East and set up a pivotal matchup with Burns for second place in the conference and a likely home playoff game.
“The wind was blowing terrible and we knew that would be a factor,” Coach Matt Conzelman said. The Dogies made it work to their advantage immediately, winning the toss, choosing their direction, and blocking a punt for a safety to set the tone early.
Newcastle scored 17 points in the first quarter and 29 more in the second to build a 46-6 halftime lead before cruising the rest of the way.
“We got it done in all three phases—offense, defense and special teams, and they had some hard hitters on their team,” Conzelman said, “I thought we did a pretty good job of containing a hard runner and their quarterback.”
Newcastle terrorized the Moorcroft backfield, finishing with nine tackles for loss and five sacks. Jace Rich led the defensive surge with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and 28 defensive points. Collin McConkey added 11 tackles and a sack, while Isaiah Anderson, Connor Kitch, Carter Farella and Owen Evenson each recorded sacks. Teddy Troftgruben was everywhere, finishing with 12 defensive points, while Cort Perino broke up two passes.
“I thought our defense attacked and did everything we needed to. It is about being disciplined and watching your keys on defense, and I thought they did the job pretty well,” Conzelman said.
Offensively, the Dogies were balanced and efficient. Newcastle ran for 231 yards on 29 carries and threw for 94 more, averaging more than 11 yards per completion. Troftgruben completed three of five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns, finding Dane Crabtree for a 50-yard strike and Perino for a 10-yard score. McConkey led the rushing attack with 72 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while Crabtree added 47 yards and a score. Troftgruben also ran for 75 yards and a touchdown, and Colton Hatheway chipped in a 35-yard scoring run.
“I thought our execution was good,” Conzelman added. “There’s still stuff we can tighten up a little bit, but I thought it was a good total team effort.”
Next up is what Conzelman calls “the Black and Orange Brawl,” as the Dogies travel to Burns for a 6 p.m. kickoff Friday night. The two teams are tied for second in the 3A East at 4-1, with the winner almost certainly securing the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in two weeks.
“They’re explosive and well coached,” Conzelman said. “They’ve got some speed that we’re definitely going to have to take care of. We’ve just got to go in there and play.”
The Dogies’ focus will be on controlling the sticks on offense and containing the Broncs’ speed on defense.
“I don’t think we want any of those guys getting into the open field on us,” Conzelman said. “Realistically you could say this is the first round of the playoffs right now, so we’re going to go out there and sell out and play every game like it is our last. I think it’s going to be a good, hard-hitting football game.”
Newcastle will close out the regular season next week at home against Wheatland.
Dogies 46, Moorcroft 6 – Stats Box
Scoring by Quarter
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Newcastle 17 29 0 0 46
Moorcroft 0 6 0 0 6
Scoring Summary (All Newcastle touchdowns rushing unless noted)
1Q – Collin McConkey 8-yard run (McConkey run, 2 pts)
1Q – Dane Crabtree 40-yard run (Erb kick)
2Q – Teddy Troftgruben 50-yard pass to Crabtree (Erb kick)
2Q – McConkey 3-yard run (Troftgruben run, 2 pts)
2Q – Colton Hatheway 35-yard run (Erb kick)
2Q – Troftgruben 50-yard pass to Cort Perino (Erb kick)
Team Totals
First Downs: Newcastle 15, Moorcroft 12
Rushing: Newcastle 231 yards on 29 carries; Moorcroft 174 yards on 50 carries
Passing: Newcastle 94 yards (4-of-6); Moorcroft 18 yards (1-of-9)
Total Offense: Newcastle 325 yards; Moorcroft 192 yards
Turnovers: Newcastle 1; Moorcroft 1
Penalties–Yards: Newcastle 5–50; Moorcroft 8–70
Punts: Newcastle 0; Moorcroft 3
Offensive Leaders
Dane Crabtree – 3 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD
Collin McConkey – 14 carries, 72 yards, 2 TDs
Teddy Troftgruben – 7 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
Colton Hatheway – 2 carries, 30 yards, 1 TD
Passing – Troftgruben 3-of-5, 88 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving – Drew Conzelman 1 catch, 28 yards; Cort Perino 1 catch, 10 yards, 1 TD; Dane Crabtree 1 catch, 50 yards, 1 TD
Special Teams – Cole Erb 4-of-4 PATs
Defensive Leaders (tackles with points)
Jace Rich – 28 pts (13 tackles, 2 TFLs)
Collin McConkey – 15 pts (11 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack)
Cort Perino – 13 pts (2 pass breakups)
Teddy Troftgruben – 12 pts (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 pass breakup)
Nate White – 10 pts (8 tackles)
Isaiah Anderson – 8 pts (2 TFLs, 1 sack)
Drew Conzelman – 7 pts
Mason Rawhouser – 7 pts
Cole Erb – 6 pts (1 fumble recovery)
Colton Hatheway – 5 pts
Dane Crabtree – 5 pts
Connor Kitch – 5 pts (1 TFL, 1 sack)
Carter Farella – 5 pts (1 TFL, 1 sack)
Adam Butler – 5 pts
Owen Evenson – 4 pts (1 TFL, 1 sack)
Rafe Herbert – 2 pts
Dustin McCarthy – 2 pts
Dylan Hespe – 2 pts
Aidan Cummings – 2 pts
Noah Gardner – 2 pts