Herders round up the Dogies

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The 2020 season has presented challenge after challenge to the Dogie football team, and what began as a year in which head coach Matt Conzelman could rest a little easier because his squad was bringing back some experience quickly took a left turn and once again, the Dogies were fielding a predominantly young roster.
Last Friday, that young team faced off against an old Glenrock Herder team of 12 seniors who not only had the upper hand with experience, but also outsized the Dogies as well. The Herders used their strengths to defeat the Dogies 34-7.
“The ‘Rock has a pretty tough scheme that they run which makes it tough on you,” Conzelman sighed. “For the most part, our defense played well all game, only giving up a couple of big plays which is huge against them.”
Unfortunately, the Dogie offense started the contest slow but then were able to build as time wore on, and with adjustments at the half, gave coaches and players some better ideas on how to progress going forward.
“Despite the final score, there were some definite positives to take away from Friday night,” Conzelman said. “The issue really came down to the fact that we didn’t play good enough early to give ourselves a chance at the end.”
The Dogies took possession on the opening drive of the contest and they were able to pick up a first down, however they stalled out shortly after and had to punt it back. 
Defense stepped up to stop the Herders on their first possession, and on Newcastle’s next offensive drive, Conzelman made the decision to go for it on fourth down at about the midfield but ended up turning it over on downs, giving the Herders pretty good field position which they used to score on their next possession
“We did set them up pretty well, but our defense made them work for the score,” Conzelman declared. “With that team, if they have the ball on second and five, it’s over. But if they have it second and long, you’ve got a chance and we made them earn every yard they got.” 
Once the Herders broke the seal, they were able to get into a rhythm and went into the half with a 22-0 lead over the Dogies. During the mid-game break, Conzelman switched up some offensive blocking schemes and made some changes in the backfield to try to adjust to circumstances.
“Quint [Perino] got banged up in the first half because they were able to get some good shots on him early, so Tristan [Wornkey] and Holden [McConkey] took turns taking snaps in the backfield to churn up some yards on the ground, and when we needed to air it out, we sent Quint back in.”
The changes seemed to have a positive impact on the Dogies’ game as both Wornkey and McConkey were able to rack up some good yardage in the second half. 
After going scoreless in the first three quarters of play, Newcastle was finally able to get on the board in the fourth frame of play. The Dogies’ scoring drive was a good one which began at their own 30 yard line. The team drove down the field and senior Kale Corley set up the squad’s only score by snagging a 41 yard toss by Perino to establish a red zone push. McConkey was able to punch in the TD on the ground on the next play with a five-yard scamper into the endzone, and Emily Beastrom finished out the score with a good PAT.
“Emily has been lifting her head to watch her kick, and I told her not to worry about it because I’d let her know if she made it,” Conzelman chuckled. “She kept her head down and put it right through the uprights.”
Beastrom went on to boot the squad’s ensuing kickoff with a well placed onside kick, but the Dogies weren’t able to fall on it.
“We got warmed up in the second half, which is good, and every game we are getting a little more consistent,” Conzelman began. “It’s just that we’re three-fourths of the way through the season which isn’t exactly where you want to be, but we are improving with each game so we want to keep heading in that direction.”
This week the team faces yet another challenge as the Torrington Trailblazers come to town on Friday. The Blazers, who were ranked second in 2A last week, are coming in fresh off a loss to Big Horn, an unranked squad. 
“Torrington has been playing well, and they are big,” Conzelman admitted. “They do a lot of passing and they will run downhill at you pretty hard, so our defense is going to have to be on their game.”
Kickoff is scheduled at 6 p.m. at Schoonmaker Field on Friday.