Bulldog fans stand to profit from one of CHSAA’s latest adjustments to the postseason – garnering another chance to see their hometown team play inside “The Dawg House.”
In previous years, the 1A classification’s playoff format would send the Bulldogs to neutral sites for both district and regional play, meaning Dove Creek would last see their home fans on Senior Night. This year, however, the 1A mirrored its 32-team field based on the same regulations as the state’s other five classifications, meaning that – with a district title at high-enough seeding in the CHSAA Seeding Index – the Bulldogs will get to host the opening two rounds of the 1A tournament.
The Dove Creek girls held up their end of the bargain, taking the 1A District 1 tournament by storm at Grand Valley High School in Parachute. The D.C. girls (19-2) blitzed past North Park, 68-24, and Nucla, 64-16, continuing their tear with their 18th straight win.
The boys team (15-6), meanwhile, ran away from Ouray, 60-32, in the semifinal, but faltered in the title game against DeBeque, falling to the Dragons 67-44. The loss means that the path for a return trip to the state tournament in Greeley will send the Bulldog boys on the road for their regional assignment.
Girls head coach Julie Kibel and her ‘Dogs made sure that their route to the district title held minimal drama, sprinting out to early leads in both the semifinal and championship games.
Senior Rylee Hickman lit up the scoreboard in the opening quarter against Nucla in the title contest, scoring nine of the D.C. 18 points in an 18-2 run to open the game. From there, junior Kylie Gatlin took over, scoring 13 of her game-high 21 points in the second period to put the Bulldog lead out of reach, as the ‘Dogs held a 36-8 edge at the intermission.
Kibel and the Bulldogs would see every player in uniform get action on the floor in the second half, as Dove Creek’s defense didn’t let up all afternoon. Gearing up for their role as hosts for a regional matchup, the Bulldogs held the Mustangs to five field goals.
An evening earlier, Dove Creek jumped out on North Park 10-0 in the opening three minutes and 24-5 through one quarter, and never looked back to advance to the district finals with a 68-24 win over the Wildcats.
Hickman and classmate Lexi Gray led the way, scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively, in the district semifinals.
The wins kept this year’s seniors perfect in district play over their four years at DCHS – adding the emphatic wins and another championship plaque to the trophy case.
Dove Creek’s girls landed the No. 4 seed in the state tournament bracket, placing them as the host for a regional pod that will include No. 29 DeBeque (10-10), who will face the Bulldogs in the opening round, as well as No. 13 Cheraw (14-6) and No. 20 Otis (8-13), who will face one another in the other regional semifinal. Winners of the opening round games on Friday will face one another on Saturday with a spot in the state tournament’s Great Eight in Greeley on the line.
Dove Creek’s boys seemed destined to join their girls’ team with a district title plaque, but got waylaid on championship Saturday.
The D.C. boys jumped on district rival Ouray early in their semifinal meeting, taking a 16-8 lead early in the second quarter before building the lead to 25-16 at the break.
The Trojans climbed closer with a pair of third quarter threes to trim the deficit to six, but Hankins’ Bulldogs responded with a 14-2 run, spurred by some athletic plays and baskets by seniors Cole Taber and Asher Nye – helping build the lead to 42-24. From there, Dove Creek continued to apply pressure around the rim, seemingly scoring at will in the second half.
Senior Tanner Williams paced the Bulldog effort, scoring 14 points while Taber added a dozen. Ten different Bulldogs tallied points in the victory.
The following day, however, proved to be a different story – the No. 3 seeded DeBeque Dragons shut down Dove Creek in the opening quarter, taking a 24-3 lead behind an onslaught of three-pointers from Scottie Vines and Jace Graham.
The duo outscored Dove Creek on their own, accounting for 46 points in the shooting exhibition, while holding Dove Creek’s top two scorers – Kade Hankins and Williams – to a combined nine points. Taber led the way with 12 points, while Nye added 10 in the losing effort.
A return to the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley for the 1A state tournament from Mar. 9-11 means that the Bulldogs will need to win two games in the McClave regional this weekend, as Dove Creek picked up the No. 14 seed in the tournament, and will face No. 19 Front Range Baptist (12-10) in the opening round. No. 3 McClave (16-5) will host the regional, as the Cardinals will take on No. 30 Denver Waldorf (9-11) in the other regional semifinal.
