Dogies Blitz Tongue River With Explosive Second Quarter

One week after being humbled by top-ranked Big Horn, the Newcastle Dogies delivered the perfect response on the road at Tongue River. A bend-but-don’t-break defense and a four-touchdown second quarter powered Newcastle to a 43–7 win Friday night in Dayton.

“It felt good to be on the other end of the stick,” head coach Matt Conzelman said.

The Eagles opened with a first down on their initial drive, but the Dogie defense quickly stiffened and forced a punt. Newcastle then strung together a methodical march behind some clutch third-down conversions — including a key grab by Cole Erb to put the Dogies inside the Tongue River 5-yard line — and punched in the opening score to take an 8–0 lead.

“They got the ball first, and we got a stop,” Conzelman said. “When we got the ball, we got a couple of tough third-down conversions and were able to go down and punch it in.”

Conzelman also explained why Newcastle went for two after the first touchdown. 

“We’ve been going on two (on the snap-count) on our PAT all year,” he said. “When they jumped off-sides, it moved the ball to the one yard line and we went for two and got it. I just got the offense back on the field and we got it in.”

From there, Newcastle’s defense seized control, holding the Eagles to only two first-downs in the entire first half while grabbing a couple of picks to keep momentum on the visitor’s side of the ball.

“They had two turnovers in the 2nd quarter, and we were on their side of the field and able to finish those drives,” Conzelman said. Interceptions by Teddy Troftgruben and Drew Conzelman flipped field position and helped set up four more Dogie touchdowns before halftime. By the break, Newcastle had built a 36–0 lead and the game was essentially decided.

Tongue River tried to rally with an onside kick to start the second half and moved the ball into scoring position, but the Dogies recovered for a stop that effectively sealed the victory.

“They threatened right away to score, but we got them stopped,” Conzelman said. “Our defense just played well all day.”

The Dogies closed out the game with a balanced attack that racked up 339 total yards and 13 first downs while limiting the Eagles to just one touchdown.

Newcastle now turns its attention to Homecoming. The Dogies will host Glenrock at Schoonmaker Field on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Conzelman said the Herders are 2–1 in conference play and 2–2 overall, with wins over Moorcroft and Wheatland and a loss to Burns. 

“They’re big up front,” he said. “They’ve got some big receivers, and the quarterback throws a decent ball.”

He added that Glenrock runs a balanced offense with a physical back and outside threats that will test Newcastle’s discipline. 

“They’re pretty similar to us,” Conzelman said. “We need to play our game and tempo. On defense, we need to not get outhit and outhustled and get 11 guys to the football and I think we’ll be okay.”

Conzelman also called on the Dogie faithful to show up for Homecoming. 

“We need everybody out to cheer us on,” he said. “Go, fight, win Dogies!”

Stat Box

Final Score
Newcastle 43, Tongue River 7

Scoring by Quarter
Newcastle – 8 28 7 0 — 43
Tongue River – 0 0 7 0 — 7

Newcastle Scoring Summary

• 1Q: McConkey TD run
• 2Q: Crabtree TD run
• 2Q: Crabtree TD run
• 2Q: McConkey TD run
• 2Q: Crabtree TD run
• 3Q: Crabtree TD run

Team Stats

• Total Yards: Newcastle 339
• First Downs: Newcastle 13 (8 rush, 5 pass)
• Turnovers Forced: 2 interceptions

Newcastle Leaders

• Passing: Troftgruben 5-7, 57 yds
• Rushing: Troftgruben 11-124; Crabtree 10-99, 4 TD; McConkey 13-67, 2 TD; Hatheway 1-14; Hespe 4-5; McCarthy 1-4
• Receiving: Erb 3-30; Perino 2-16
• Special Teams: Erb 3-4 PAT; McConkey two 2-point runs
   

Defense:
Drew Conzelman 13 tackles, 2 TFL, INT (23 pts); Jace Rich 7 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 PBU, sack (19 pts); Colton Hatheway 7 tackles (12 pts); Collin McConkey 3 tackles, blocked kick (10 pts); Cole Erb 5 tackles, TFL (7 pts); Nate White 4 tackles, PBU (7 pts); Kort Perino 5 tackles (6 pts); Teddy Troftgruben INT (5 pts); Mason Rawhauser 5 assists, 2 TFL, sack (8 pts); Isaiah Anderson tackle, TFL, sack (4 pts); Dane Crabtree 3 tackles (4 pts); Adam Butter 2 tackles, PBU (5 pts); Lucas Benshoof 3 tackles (5 pts); Dustin McCarthy 2 assists (2 pts); Dylan Hespe 1 assist (1 pt); Carter Farella 1 assist (1 pt)