Dove Creek overcame a slow start during Senior Night at Soper Sports Complex, taking control in the second quarter en route to a mercy-rule win. After honoring five seniors in pregame festivities, the Bulldogs evened their record at 4-4 and kept playoff hopes alive by dismantling the Farmers with a bruising defense and effective ground game.
Senior Nicholas Aragon scored four touchdowns, including the game’s first points on a 39-yard reception from junior Cael Beanland. Classmate Josh Kibel opened a 36-point second quarter with a 21-yard run, before Aragon and freshman Kycen Gritz added four more scores on runs of 6, 47, 5 and 34 yards, triggering a running clock before halftime.
Seniors Trevan Ivie, Chad Kline and Bobby Pastorius capped their final home game with a dominant defensive effort, securing the program’s first shutout since Week 7 of last season. Dove Creek travels to Sanford for a must-win matchup against the league champion Mustangs at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Norwood used a feisty ground game and stifled Mancos’ offense to virtually lock up a playoff spot on Senior Night. After both teams traded turnovers early, the Mavericks struck first with a short-field score to go up 6-0. Norwood (6-2, 3-1 Mountain League) then stopped a Mancos drive at the 25-yard line and marched the other way for a two-score lead.
Mancos (5-3, 2-2) answered with a 43-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Michael Resner to cut the deficit to 14-6, but Norwood responded with two more dominant drives to take a 26-6 halftime lead and never looked back.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Mancos in the series and leaves the Bluejays needing a win in their regular-season finale at Sargent (Oct. 31, 6 p.m.) to stay in contention for a home playoff game.
Dolores (4-3, 1-3 Mountain League) nearly pulled off one of the weekend’s biggest surprises, going step-for-step with Sanford, but the Mustangs (7-1, 4-0) had enough answers to officially clinch the league title.
The Bears remain in the playoff hunt, but like Dove Creek, face a must-win in the final week of the regular season. Dolores hosts Norwood on Halloween night at 7 p.m., with coverage on local radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ and at krtzradio.com.
