The final score of 41-8 was not indicative of the level of play during the Bulldogs win Friday night in the ‘Dawg Pound. Errors by the Pahrump Valley Trojans contributed to the loss. The Bulldogs came out running as Bulldog tailback Dee Bowler took the opening kick-off on the 10 and returned it to the 35 yard-line. Bowler ran up the middle for five yards before Quarterback Garrett Leavitt went 5 yards on a keeper for a first and ten on their own 40 yard-line. Leavitt then hit wide-out Dillon Graves for a 44 yard gain to the Trojans 16 yard line. Leavitt and Graves ran for two and six yards respectively setting up a third and two from the eight yard line. Bowler smashed over the middle for six setting up a first and goal for the Bulldogs. Bowler took it over from there for six points. The two point conversion failed.
The ‘Dawgs quick hitting ‘Pistol Offense’ went 65 yards in approximately 3 minutes for the 6-0 lead. Bulldog kicker Tyson Teerlink’s kick-off soared into the end zone for a touchback. The Trojans first error of the game was a big one as Q.B. A.J. Segura fumbled the snap and Bowler recovered the pig-skin for a Bulldog first and ten from the Trojans 23 yard-line. It didn’t take long for the opportunistic Bulldogs to increase their lead as Leavitt hit Teerlink over the middle for six more points. Teerlink’s extra-point try was good. The score took six seconds giving the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead after three plus minutes of play. Teerlink’s kick-off went into the end zone for another touchback. The Trojans reeled off a quick first down before Teerlink dropped Trojan Q.B. Segura for a huge loss forcing a Trojan punt. The punt rolled out of bounds at the Trojans 37 yard-line. An incomplete pass on first down to Cristian Aguirre fell short. Bowler was hit hard on a run and fumbled the ball giving the Trojans a first down on their own 41 yard-line. Segura was stopped for a one yard loss back to the 40 yard-line. A 10 yard pass by Segura gave the Trojans a third and one from the fifty.
Bulldog backer Graves smashed through the Trojan line stopping Segura for a 5 yard loss forcing another Trojan punt to the Bulldogs 28 yard-line. Leavitt ran for four yards before throwing two incomplete passes forcing a Bulldog punt. Leavitt got a great roll on the punt and it was downed by the Bulldogs on the Trojan five yard-line. Three Bulldogs led by Tanner Kilmer burst through the Trojan line dropping Segura for a safety. The Bulldogs now led by 15-0 with 2:21 left in the first quarter. The Trojans kick gave the Bulldogs a first down on the Trojans 40 yard-line. It took the Bulldogs only two plays and 35 seconds to put six more points on the board. Leavitt ran for 15 yards followed by a Leavitt pass to Graves for the score. The quarter ended with the Bulldogs up 21-0.
The Trojan defense stopped the Bulldogs high powered offense on two straight possessions to begin the second quarter. The Bulldogs could only manage one sustained drive in the period. The ‘Dawgs began the drive from their 20 yard-line with 5:27 left on the clock. A holding penalty set the ‘Dawgs back 10 yards. Leavitt ran for six yards behind a great block by Aguirre. Mixing his plays Leavitt set up a first down on the Trojans 35 yard-line. Leavitt proceeded to hit Teerlink long for another Bulldog touchdown with less than one minute remaining in the half. Teerlink’s kick-off was fumbled by the Trojans on their own five yard-line. The half ended with Bulldogs up 27-0 over the Trojans.
Although not hitting pay-dirt it was all Trojans in the third quarter as they held the ball for almost 10 minutes of the period. They would have a drive of 14 plays sustained by penalties on the Bulldogs. The period was uneventful and ended with the score 27-0.
The Trojans received the opening fourth quarter kick-off and returned it to their 25 yard line. Ten plays later they were in the end zone with their first score of the evening. The drive took 5:14 minutes off the clock. Bulldog returnee Aguirre fielded the ball on his six yard-line and returned it to the 31 yard-line. Leavitt then hit Graves for a 47 yard gain to give the ‘Dawgs a first and ten on the Trojans 19 yard-line. The Bulldogs were called for a false start moving the ball back five yards. Leavitt ran for 16 yards followed by Bowlers three cracks at the interior of the Trojan defense finally scoring on his third try with 4:01 remaining in the game. The extra point failed leaving the score 33-8 in favor of the ‘Dawgs. Teerlink’s kickoff was received by the Trojans on their 12 yard-line and returned it to their 35. The last big turnover occurred on the next play as Segura was intercepted by Teerlink and took it all the way home. The attempted kick went awry and Teerlink picked up the stray ball and added two more points to the Bulldogs score. The game ended with the ‘Dawgs on top 41-8. “We were disappointed in our up front play. We could not get our running game in gear. The Trojans were out playing us in the trenches,” said Coach Chris Sawyers. “We came out hot but left our foot off the gas. Our defense played well pretty much throughout the game but allowed that huge 14 play drive in the third quarter. I was surprised at our hydration problems as the boys have been taking lots of liquids. Were still in the weight room keeping in shape,” added Sawyers. The Bulldogs will be away next week against the Mojave High School Rattlers. Mojave lost to Boulder City 16-13 and beat Desert Pines 29-18. It should be a good test for the Bulldogs.