Dogies wrap up season of adversity

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It just seemed as though the hits kept coming for the Dogies this season, and the final contest of the year stayed true to form. Last Friday, Newcastle finished up 2018 with a trip to Buffalo to take on the number one team in 2A. 
The Bison brought everything to the gridiron that head coach Matt Conzelman expected, and their weapons were just too much for a young, injured Dogie team who were limping toward the finish to their year.
“Their offense was explosive. They’re fast and athletic and have decent size up front,” Conzelman began. “That created a lot of mismatches that did not go in our favor.”
Unfortunately, the Dogies added to their misfortune by committing turnovers that put the ball back into the Bison’s hands, and they went on to score on each opportunity.
“A lot of the things that have hindered us all season showed up again,” Conzelman sighed. “We had four interceptions and a fumble on the night. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, if you have five turnovers bad things are going to happen.”
Friday was yet another night where injuries took a toll. Early in the contest, sophomore Christian Santos suffered a concussion and late in the game senior Aaron Fullerton was sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Bison went into the half up 42-0 over the Dogies, having scored 21 points in both the first and second quarters. They went on to pick up one more touchdown in the remaining
two quarters.
With 2:32 remaining in the contest, Bradyn Frye scored the only points for the Dogies. The play call was for a pass, but nothing opened up so Frye opted to run. It was a scamper of about 20 yards when he found the end zone and then Frye ended up carrying in the two point conversion as well. Those points made the final score 56-8 in Buffalo’s favor.
“It was a challenging season, and we’ve had to overcome adversity and injuries so it’s been tough,” Conzelman sighed. “But we are definitely taking some positives from it. First, we had a lot of young guys who got varsity experience, so they know what it feels like to be in the fray and have that knowledge going forward.” 
“Second, we learned and showed a lot of mental toughness handling all the adversity,” he went on. “You could really see that with how they finished games. It was ‘never say die, Dogie’ all year. They fought hard in every game, all game long, regardless of the score, and they didn’t allow the situation to shake them.”
With the season ended, Conzelman is looking to the future knowing that there are some big shoes to fill. The Dogies graduate size on the line and experience in the backfield, losing Sawyer Roberson, Isaiah Covey, Kyle Haslam, Aaron Fullerton, Dayton Williams, Isaac Prell and Kaden Curren.
“It wasn’t the way any of those seniors wanted to finish it out, but I just reminded them that they have a lot of good memories over the four years as a Dogie,” Conzelman nodded. “They’ve made it to the playoffs and the semifinals. It’s been a fun ride with them and it was kind of cool when I walked in the locker room and some of those seniors were telling the freshmen what it was like when they were that age, and passing on some of their wisdom. I will miss them, and I thank them for the memories.”