An exciting night of firsts

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Head Dogie football coach Matt Conzelman knew this season would be one for the books as COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into the fall sports season, but the team was excited to head to Hot Springs, SD last Friday to get under way.
From the start, the contest was tight with both teams giving it everything they had, and in the course of 32 minutes of play, there were close calls, unforeseen injuries, history making moments and ended with a nail biter that had the Bison kneeling on the ball to take the 13-7 victory over the Dogies.
“It was exciting, but we just didn’t get ‘er done,” Conzelman began. “It was probably the most fun I’ve had in a game that we didn’t win. We would drive down and stall or have a bad snap, but if everything worked out a little differently, we would maybe have come out with a different outcome. We were able to move the ball, so now we just need to finish.”
The teams traded blow for blow but held each other out of the endzone until the Bison were able to break the Dogie defensive line and punch one in to take a 7-0 lead into the locker room at the half.
A one touchdown deficit was the least of Conzelman’s worries at the mid-game break, however as in two quarters of play, he had lost his starting quarterback (Slade Roberson) and his backup quarterback (Quint Perino) to injuries that would sideline them for the rest of the contest.
“The injury bug hit us hard. I knew we were going to face adversity but I didn’t know it would be like this,” Conzelman sighed. “It’s the first time this has happened since I’ve been here, but we burned through our quarterbacks pretty quickly”.
“Slade was looking so smooth. He was on a 60 yard scramble when he cut along the sideline and his knee went out from under him,” Conzelman continued. “So we put Quint in, but right before half time, he made a tackle on the sideline and hurt his shoulder so we limped into half with just two backs in the backfield.”
Some quick scrambling by the coaches and a leap of faith coupled with a gutsy decision by senior running back Chauncey Jenerou, had him under center to begin the second half. Despite having no experience in the position and having taken no snaps as QB, Jenerou stepped up and marched his team down the field in their first drive of the third quarter to punch one in and tie the game at sevens.
“It was exciting to see Chauncey step up and take on a position which he never expected to be filling,” Conzelman beamed. “He hasn’t run any snaps ever, and though he struggles a little with passing, as to be expected, he did end up one for one on the night.”
The touchdown was a plethora of firsts for all of the key players involved. Senior Kale Corley has spent his high school career on the line offensively and defensively, however this year he is trying his hand at fullback and apparently, he is skilled as a ball carrier as well. It was Corley who dragged a herd of Bison into the endzone for his first Dogie football touchdown.
“Kale played center last year, but I decided to see what he could do with the ball in his hands this year,” Conzelman smiled. “Turns out it was a good decision because he got some carries and then scored on a ten-yard scamper. It was awesome!”
The final first on the play was also an historical moment for Dogie football as senior Emily Beastrom stepped up to boot the PAT straight through the uprights to score her first points as a football player.
The contest remained tied until late in the fourth quarter when the Dogies made a mistake that gifted the Bison the go-ahead score.
“We snapped the ball over Chauncey’s head into the endzone and they didn’t let that opportunity go to waste,” Conzelman nodded. “They jumped on it for an easy six points and then missed the extra point but that was all it took.”
The Dogies marched the ball about to midfield, but then couldn’t convert a fourth down so Hot Springs got the ball back, ran three plays and knelt on it to end the game.
As the Dogies look to take on their second Bison team in two weeks, they have some adjusting to do before heading to Buffalo this Friday. In addition to Roberson and Perino, linemen Killian Gorman and Kayne Hinshaw got banged up as well and the team won’t know the status of any players until mid-week.
With that in mind, Conzelman is getting Jenerou and Tate Engle some reps in the quarterback position along with Perino in the event he gets the green light to get back in action.
Kickoff against the 3A Bison is scheduled for 7 on Friday in Buffalo.