WIGGINS — They picked the wrong game to play poorly in and lose.

The Bulldogs, who were undefeated going into their Class A Quarterfinal Football Playoff game against Wiggins, lost 32-21 Saturday afternoon, Nov. 13, here before a large crowd. DCHS had a good following with lots of fans making the long drive across the state. The game was played in beautiful weather with the temperature near 80 degrees.

"They made too many big plays on us today," DCHS coach Ken Soper said following the game. "Those big plays, especially that kickoff return, killed us. You can’t take anything away from Wiggins because they have got a good team."

The two teams played evenly in the first quarter. Neither team could do much with the ball offensively. The score ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

Early in the second quarter, Dolores County was on the move. Quarterback Justin Wyatt hit Keith Pierce on a long pass which took the ball to the Wiggins 4-yard line. But the Bulldogs could not push the ball across the goal line. They attempted a long field goal but the ball fell short.

Wiggins marched down to paydirt with 7:26 showing. The Tigers’ biggest play was a 25-yard scamper by Travis LaFever. The kick was good and Wiggins was up 7-0. But the Bulldogs rallied back, thanks to a long kickoff return by Chris Kail to the Wiggins 38. A 25-yard pass from Wyatt to Pierce was good for a touchdown with 4:56 to go. On a muffed conversion from the swinging gate, Jade Huskey tossed to Jarrod Wyatt for the score which DCHS up 8-7.

The Bulldogs made a good defensive stand when Wiggins was threatening at the DCHS 29. The score ended 8-7 at the half.

The teams were stopped on their first possessions. Wiggins quarterback Daniel Neal tossed the ball to LaFever from 10 yards out with 6:47 to play. The kick failed but Wiggins was on top at 13-8. The Bulldogs came right back on the first play from scrimmage on the next series. Wyatt tossed to Pierce who raced 68 yards with 6:27 to go. The pass failed but DCHS was back on top 14-13.

That lead certainly didn’t last long. A Wiggins player returned the ball 90 yards on the kickoff. The run failed but the Tigers were up 19-14 and would never relinquish the lead again. The Bulldogs were stopped on their next drive.

Dove Creek had pretty much contained big back Mark Miller in the first half. But Miller began driving right through the young DC line. He rambled 38 yards to put the ball down to the DC21. He got the ball down to the 1-yard line on the next play. Neal then called his own number and sneaked the ball into the end zone with 1:19 showing. The kick was true and Wiggins led 26-14.

The Bulldogs got the ball late in the quarter and started marching from their own 25. They worked the ball and got it all the way down to the W2. Ron Ernst bulled his way over with 11:15 to play in the game. Kail booted the point-after. Wiggins led 26-21. The Tigers got the ball back and their long drive was stalled deep in DCHS territory. The Bulldogs got the ball at their own 20 but could not move it and was forced to punt. From their own 41, Miller got the call. He zigged and zagged to the sideline and then raced to paydirt 59 yards with 4:35 to go. The kick failed but the scoreboard now read Home: 32, Visitors: 21. Miller finished the game with 233 yards rushing.

That’s the way the score would remain. DCHS had a couple more opportunities but could not score. At one point they had the ball on their own 47 with still 2:03 to play. But they could not get anything going.

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 10-1 record. Wiggins moved its record to 8-3.