Dogies drop Patriots

Sonja Karp

NLJ Sports Editor

The annual Weston County Civil War was waged Friday night as Newcastle opened up 2A East Conference play against the Upton-Sundance Patriots at Schoonmaker Field. Head coach Matt Conzelman’s squad dominated their cross-county rivals, soundly defeating them 48-6.

“Oh man, that was very exciting!” Conzelman said, grinning. “We beat them two years ago, but last year we lost to them 28-17, so this was pretty sweet to get back on top.” 

Teddy Troftgruben scored the first two touchdowns of the game for the Dogies on a 10-yard scamper and a 16-yard run in the first quarter. He notched his third TD in the third quarter with a quick one-yard gain. Connor Stolhammer picked up his first TD of the season on a seven-yard scamper in the second quarter, Dane Crabtree had the longest TD run of the night, cruising 40 yards for his first touchdown of the season in the third. Then Collin McConkey ran 36 yards for his second-quarter touchdown and cruised in for a four-yard carry in the fourth quarter.

“I really can’t take that much credit for my touchdowns,” Troftgruben said. “The offensive line really blocked well for me so I was just able to run into the end zone untouched.” 

Conzelman was very pleased with how his team spread the ball out over the night to several different players, giving his team a very diversified look on offense. 

“It was great to see all of our weapons being put to use,” Conzelman said. 

There were four different Dogies who scored on the night, four different players who had receptions for yardage, and five players who picked up yards rushing. That kind of spread of capable skill positions has the potential to make the Dogies a tough team to defend. 

“It’s so nice to have a lot of skill players because it’s great to be able to spread the ball around,” quarterback Troftgruben said.

The Dogies racked up 355 yards rushing and 148 yard passing on the night, with Troftgruben throwing a perfect seven for seven.

“The O line also gave me time when it came to passing, and my receivers were always open, so I just had to throw the ball,” Troftgruben said. “It was nice to go 7-7 after throwing three picks against Thermopolis.” 

The Dogies took a definitive 34-6 lead into the halftime break, and then didn’t let up by scoring another 14 points on the board in the second frame of play while holding the Patriots out of the end zone to finish with the 48-6 win.

The Dogies ended the night without committing a single turnover. Though they put it on the grass once, they were able to recover the ball. On the other hand, the Dogie defense forced four turnovers, intercepting the Patriots once and recovering three fumbles.

“We took over the turnover game, which was huge!” said lineman Aidan Butler. “The line really dominated up front, which was great, and Mason Rawhouser really stepped up, coming in to play defensive end, and the Hatheway boys [Landen and Colton] also did great in the secondary.”

This week will be a different week for the Dogies as they head to Big Horn to take on the No. 1 team in the conference. 

“They are tough, but I think that if we can play like we need to, it gives us a chance,” Conzelman said. “I guess we’ll see what this week brings.”

The game kicks off at 6 p.m. in Big Horn. 

“I’m looking forward to playing Big Horn. They are a good football team for sure, but it gives us the opportunity to prove ourselves,” Troftgruben added.