Football team breaks the seal

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
After the Dogies were denied a goal in their home opener, head coach Matt Conzelman gave up a personal foul by clearing the bench when junior Tristan Wornkey scored the squad’s first touchdown of the year last Friday in Wheatland. 
“We haven’t gotten one for a while, so when we did, we cleared the bench and took the foul,” Conzelman grinned. “You want the guys to feel the excitement of getting in the end zone, and I think that did help us.”
Despite finding themselves in a 21-point scoring deficit at the end of the night, the Dogies found the end zone two more times before time ticked off the clock and Conzelman noted that his team walked away with some real positives.
“There are a lot of things to take away from this game. We’re very close offensively to being a lot more efficient, so we have to strive to get to that point,” he began. “We are missing some key blocks that need to be made and we need to spread the ball out a little bit more, so those are our keys going into this next week.”
Wornkey was the workhorse for the Dogies on the night. The junior carried the ball 30 times for 142 yards and was on the receiving end of the pass three times for 34 yards. He also scored 18 of the Dogies’ 20 points.
“Tristan is a fighter and a playmaker for us and that’s huge,” Conzelman exclaimed. “But, we’re going to have to mix that up a little bit, because we don’t want to run him into the ground. That’s on the higher end of where we want those numbers to be.” 
Wheatland opened the game up with a 40-yard pass play into the endzone on their first series of the game. The Dogies only allowed them one more goal before the end of the half, so went into the locker room down 14-0.
“On their first touchdown, it was on fourth down and it could have gone either way. We missed it and they capitalized on it, and that’s what happens against really good teams,” Conzelman declared. “If you make an error, they are going to use it against you and make you pay for it.”
During the mid-game break, Conzelman reminded his team that they needed to believe in themselves and in their teammates, and to believe that they are capable of banging with bigger, stronger teams. The squad seemed to take that to heart, and came out to get their first touchdown of the year on their second series of the third quarter.
The offense had driven down the field to make a red zone stand which culminated in Wornkey running the ball in with a five-yard scamper. Bradyn Frye capped it off by nailing the PAT after to bring the score to 7-14 in Wheatland’s favor.
The personal foul which resulted from the Dogies clearing the bench in celebration left the Bulldogs with good field position which they used to answer back with a TD of their own. Fortunately, Wornkey punched another one in on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter. Frye missed the PAT this time around giving the Dogies 13 points.
Though Wornkey would connect on a 23-yard pass from Slade Roberson to pick up his third touchdown of the night, and Frye was also good on the PAT, Newcastle could only muster 20 points to Wheatland’s 41.  
“I thought we played pretty decent,” Conzelman reflected. “We were still right there, fighting to make it interesting, but then we just kind of let the fourth quarter get away from us. If you took out three of their big scores that we should have had, then it’s a closer game, obviously.”
As Conzelman and his crew prepare to take on the Herders in Glenrock this Friday, the coach pointed out that his young team is still working on establishing their identity, and to improve in the areas that are needed.
“Every week we want to see a step forward, and even though we took a 21-point loss last Friday, it was still a step in the right direction,” he nodded. “We’re definitely seeing improvements every day, and I want the guys to realize that regardless of if we’re winning or losing, they need to project a lot of fight, a lot of effort, and a lot of try. If they do, good things will happen.”