DOLORES – In the evolution of a program, single moments that defined the change are often difficult to point out.
Converting third-and-31 might be one.
Trailing 18-14 late in the third quarter against Coloradopreps.com No. 9 Plateau Valley, back-to-back penalties turned a Bears third-and-one into an unwieldly mountain to climb. With yards hard to come by as the rain started to fall at Dolores High School, it appeared that the Bears opportunity to take their first lead of the contest might have passed them by.
Senior quarterback River Wickstrom and the DHS offense had other ideas – he caught classmate Miles Brown in stride down the seam for a 42-yard connection that flipped the momentum. The surging Bears scored a couple plays later on 1-yard dive from junior Branson Lee to take their first lead of the season – a margin their defense would protect through the final quarter to capture a 20-18 win.
The comeback ignited a couple quarters earlier for first-year head coach Duston Russell’s group, when Dolores slowly started to rebound from a first quarter 12-0 hole.
“We’re a different team this year,” said Bears senior Darren Hicks. “We know that in year’s past, being down two scores, we might have laid down.”
After the Cowboys struck through the air for two long scores, Dolores responded with a churning drive, highlighted by Wickstrom keeping plays alive through evasive footwork in the backfield. With the Bears knocking on the door, Wickstrom slipped out of a near-certain sack before firing a laser to Brown for an 11-yard score to get the Bears on the board. Sophomore Trey Winder punched through the PAT to make the score 12-7 two minutes into the second quarter.
However, Plateau Valley speedster London Mitchell answered with his second TD of the night, returning the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to put the home team down two scores again.
Russell’s crew turned to misdirection and their own track standout on their next possession, as Brown took a pitch around the left end, while the other seven Bears on the field shifted right, leaving the Cowboys flat-footed while the senior sprinted 78 yards for his second score.
“We’ve got speed all over the field,” Hicks said – as the Bears used their quickness on the perimeter to open up their offense after a slow start, “we made some great catches over the middle – they (Plateau Valley) had good coverage, but we were just faster.”
After halftime, both teams amped up their defense, trading fourth down stops and punts before the Bears took their first lead with 15 ticks left in the third quarter. From there, Dolores stonewalled the Cowboys on their final possessions, with sophomore JJ Robson closing the door with an interception in the final seconds to seal the victory.
“River led us in that fourth quarter,” Hicks said – as the Bears overcame the ejection of their head coach to grind out the final minutes of the game, “he has such good ball knowledge – and we were able to be gritty and close the game out.”
Dolores generated four takeaways to dominate the turnover battle, highlighted by two interceptions from Hicks, including one in the end zone to snuff out a Cowboy drive right before half.
The Bears hit the road for a pair of Friday night outings, first at Monticello on Sept. 4, then to Rangely the following week. They return home on Sept. 18 to face Escalante (N.M.) in their final nonleague game before taking on Mancos (Oct. 2) to kick off Mountain League play.
