Oh So Sweet

DAYTON - The last time the Bulldogs won a football game, Hayden Fullerton was a freshman. Now a junior and strong safety for the Bulldogs, Ful­lerton is relishing his team's first victory since Dayton defeated Tekeo-Oakesdale during Homecoming 2008. Friday's 13-3 win over Tri Cities Prep is particularly sweet as it comes a week before this year's Bulldogs Homecoming and ends one of the longest winless spells in the high school's football history. Dayton squares off against the undefeated WP Cardinals on Friday and will need all the confidence it can get. "It gave us a big boost for our Homecoming game," Fullerton said. "Our confi­dence is going to be so much higher knowing we can win." And even if the Bulldogs don't get past the Cardinals this week, the mere knowl­edge

that Fullerton and his teammates have the capac­ity to win makes all the dif­ference for the rest of the season.

"We feel we can bat­tle with every team in the league," said quarterback Colton Bickelhaupt, who was also a freshman when the Bulldogs last won. "We think we can hold our ground against WP and make it a game or possibly even a win."

More than half the Bull­dogs' roster hasn't even expe­rienced a victory since they started playing high school football. "You don't think one win could be that special un­til you realize it's been 16 games since the last one," head coach Dean Bickel­haupt said. "You keep won­dering if it's ever going to happen."

On the other hand, nei­ther coach Bickelhaupt nor quarterback Bickelhaupt is shocked by the Bulldogs' first victory. "We've been progressing every week," coach Bick­elhaupt said, pointing to an improving defense and a shrinking points deficit. "The boys knew it was coming."

The younger Bickelhaupt said his team had a feeling they could beat the Jaguars after playing them in camp this summer and watching footage of their games. "We felt we were well-matched," he said. The game in Pasco Friday started as a scoreless defen­sive battle in which neither team gave much ground until TCP booted a 40-yard field goal with seven seconds be­fore halftime.

During the entire first half, the Bulldogs logged only 32 yards of offense, including a 13-yard pass from Bick­elhaupt to Fullerton. The Bulldogs returned the favor. Fullerton and Kroft Sunder­land each blocked Jaguar punts while Albert Yacovelli recovered a fumble. Dayton's big break came late in the third quarter when Wyatt Frame blocked an­other TCP punt and caught it. A penalty against the Jaguars brought the ball to the TCP 15-yard line.

Bickelhaupt ran for 11 yards to set up first and goal at the Jaguars' 4-yard line. Bickelhaupt goofed, Josh Frame recovered at the 12, Albert Yacovelli and Bickle­haupt each ran for four yards, setting up fourth and goal. Bickelhaupt took it in for the touchdown himself, and it broke the dam. With less than two minutes to go in the third after Joey Schlachter's extra-point kick, Dayton was up 7-3.

"I knew we would win the game," he said.

The next Bulldogs touch­down came with only a few minutes to go in the game. From a Jaguars punt, the Bulldogs began a drive on the TCP 47-yard line. Frame caught an 11-yard Bick­elhaupt

pass, followed by two more plays until Frame caught a 35-yard pass in the end zone for the touchdown with barely two minutes re­maining. "We held them to only about 30 yards during the second half," coach Bickel­haupt said about his defense. "We pretty much shut them out." "It was a sigh of relief," he said, referring to the long los­ing streak almost as a curse. "You almost forget what it's like to win. It was such a good feeling for all of us." Even the ice water the players used to drench their coach felt like a relief in the 85-degree evening, Bick­elhaupt said. "We're going to be excited and ready to go Friday. Win or lose (this week), our win (Friday) will help us in every game from here on out."