Dogies stampede the Wolves

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Dogie Football Head Coach Matt Conzelman awoke on Saturday morning with a smile on his face after his squad picked up their first season and conference win of the year over the Moorcroft Wolves on Friday. The win was even sweeter given it snapped an 14-game losing streak which had been carried over from the 2017 season.
In the decisive 32-6 victory, the Dogies dominated the Wolves rushing 255 yards to their 63 and passing 79 yards to their 56. Conzelman was especially pleased with the improvement his team showed in their running game after several weeks of being pass heavy on offense.
“It was nice to get the running game going a little bit,” he smiled. “We had 41 carries for 255 which is huge for us. It was also good to be able to spread it out a little bit rather than just have one or two guys carrying the ball for us.” 
Four Dogies got in on the action with Bradyn Frye rushing for 131 yards, Slade Roberson contributing 24, Christian Santos had 43 and Holden McConkey had one 53-yard run.
The Dogies started things off with style as they got on the board at the 5:33 mark of the first quarter when Frye was good on a field goal from 25 yards out. 
“I really wanted to get in the endzone, but coming out of there with some points was awesome,” Conzelman admitted. “It’s also great to know that we have the ability to get points on the board when we are in a fourth and long situation.”
Shortly after Frye’s field goal, the Wolves threw an errant pass that Taten Engle intercepted to retake possession with good field position. Though the Dogies weren’t able to convert the turnover into points, they kept Moorcroft’s offense on the sidelines.
In the second quarter, Christian Santos went to work. Less than two minutes in, the junior broke free from the Wolves defense and ran the ball 35 yards for the first Dogie touchdown of the night. Frye was the ball carrier on the two-point conversion attempt as he punched the ball in to extend his team’s lead to 11-0.
The Dogie defense continued to put on the pressure. Engle made another key play by tripping up a Moorcroft ball carrier after he broke free on the outside, causing the ball to slip out of his grasp, and Braden Jenkins jumped on it for the fumble recovery. 
“Our defense looked pretty good,” Conzelman nodded. “We’ve really stressed gang tackling - getting 11 guys to the football - because you have a lot better chance of taking down the ball carrier that way, and I thought that was a lot better.”
With under 30 seconds to go in the first half, Santos snagged a 36-yard pass from Roberson on the 15-yard line and cruised into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night. The Dogies went for the two-point conversion where Chauncey Jenerou put his team up 19-0 as he carried the ball across the goal line.
The Wolves managed to get on the board with their only score of the game in the third quarter when their player jumped over the Dogie center as Frye attempted a field goal. 
“He blocked the kick and went on to pick up the ball and run all the way down the field for the touchdown,” Conzelman described. “We held them out on the two-point conversion attempt, though, so kept them to only six points on the night.”
Frye, the self-proclaimed Swiss Army Knife of the Dogies, added to his offensive stats by running the ball in on a five-yard scamper near the end of the third quarter. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, however, so Newcastle closed out the quarter with a 25-6 lead.
In the final frame of the contest, McConkey logged his first varsity touchdown of his career when the freshman broke free and outran the Wolves defense for a 53-yard jaunt into the endzone. Frye was good on the PAT to put Newcastle up 32-6 to end the contest.
“It was third and seven, so we sent Holden out on a sweep to try to pick up a first down,” Conzelman began. “He got out and lo-and-behold, he busted it out all the way to the endzone!” “He didn’t even get touched,” Conzelman continued. “He went out on the sideline, and then cut back across the field. It was amazing to see that kind of speed, because we haven’t had that for a while so it’ll be a fun four years with him.”
Conzelman and his crew took a couple of days to enjoy their conference win, but have now turned their sights to the upcoming contest against the Tigers in Lusk where kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday. 
“We’re still missing some tackles, but it’s coming and you can see that it is. We’re still working on that because to have a chance at Lusk, we have to stop them on the ground where they are dominant,” Conzelman nodded. “ It’s going to be a physical game, so we just have to be able to match that and stop the run.”