Dogs Show They Have Fight And Bite

ENTERPRISE - The Dayton Bulldogs fought the Enterprise Outlaws, but were unable to se­cure a lead, falling, 20-14, Thurs­day night in Enterprise, Ore.

The Bulldogs held the Out­laws for most of the first quarter fighting back and forth down the field. The Outlaws broke away and scored the first touchdown of the game in the last 14.3 seconds of the first quarter. The Outlaws went for the extra point but the kick was no good.

The first quarter ended with a score of 6-0, Outlaws.

The Bulldogs fought back in the second quarter pushing the ball down to the 14-yard line after a handoff by quarterback Lowden Smith to Isaiah Lam­bert. Three penalties in quick succession pushed the Bulldogs back 15 yards, but Wyatt Frame was able to make a catch to bring the Bulldogs back to the 14-yard line. Frame made a catch in the end zone that would have tied the game up, but a penalty forced the ball to turnover on downs.

The Outlaws fumbled the ball early in their possession and it was recovered by Kane Hackett, but the Bulldogs couldn't make it to the end of the field before turn­ing the ball over.

Frame kicked off and twice in a row and sent the ball into the furthest back corner, forcing the Outlaws to return from the 1-yard line.

The Bulldogs picked up mo­mentum toward the end of the second quarter when Smith took the scoring into his own hands running a quarterback scramble to break through the line of scrimmage and into the end zone with only 36.1 seconds left in the half. The extra point was blocked, bringing the score to 6-6.

The Outlaws were not ready to break for halftime and when the Bulldogs kicked off, the Outlaws responded with an 85- yard touchdown and an extra two points with only 23.9 seconds left on the clock, bringing the score to 14-6, Outlaws, at the half.

The Bulldogs came back from halftime with a renewed sense of fight. Lambert juked through the Outlaws for about a 50-yard run, landing the Bull­dogs on the Outlaws' 37-yard line. The Bulldogs were able to advance for two first downs be­fore a fumble was recovered by the Outlaws.

The Outlaws saw three flags before they broke away and scored another touchdown with 2:27 left in the third quarter. The Outlaws attempted a two point conversion but the attempt was no good, bringing the score to 20-6, Outlaws.

The Bulldogs took the ball and pushed with good intentions, but couldn't move out of their half of the field. The third quarter ended with a score of 20-6, Outlaws. The fourth quarter started with big tackles by the Bulldogs and a pass deflection by Dakota Hayes that kept the Outlaws out of the end zone. The ball was turned over to the Bulldogs and Lambert had every intention of taking it to the goal until the Outlaws intercepted a big pass. Andrew Mendoza recovered a fumble and the Bulldogs pushed through for two more first downs before the ball was turned over.

The Bulldogs held the Outlaws, the two teams pushing back and forth until the Bulldogs were able to pick up the ball and move it down the field with a catch by Frame and a drive down the mid- dle by Lambert. With only 2:10 left on the clock, Smith drove to Frame in the end zone and scored a touchdown.

The Bulldogs, attempting to pick up a lead in the final min- utes of the game, successfully completed a two point conver- sion, bringing the score to 20-14, Outlaws.

The Bulldogs picked up mo- ment and their energy was pal- pable across the field. They held onto the Outlaws, matching plays but were unable to strip the ball in the final minutes to score again, ending the game with a final score of 20-14, Outlaws.

"They're getting better," Head coach Dean Bickelhaupt said. "At times, I thought we outplayed the Outlaws."

Bickelhaupt said he was happy with the Bulldogs' per- formance and he hopes they can keep their heads up and keep up their momentum into the next game.

The Dogs play next at home versus Asotin at 7 p.m.