It was a win Dolores County needed. And after turning the ball over five times and nearly giving the game away, the Bulldogs pulled out a 27-24 Class A San Juan Basin League win over Norwood Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7, at Weber Park Field.

Trailing 24-14 at the half, the Bulldogs scored twice in the fourth quarter to hold on to the important win. The go-ahead touchdown came when the Bulldogs got the ball on the Norwood 38-yard line after the Mavericks were forced to punt deep in their own territory at the 2. Quarterback Keith Pierce tossed to Dallas Daves who raced from the 34-yard line with 11:48 showing. Pierce kicked the point-after to make it 24-21 in favor of the Mavs.

Following a short punt, DCHS got the ball on the N49. Then the Bulldogs utilized some razzle-dazzle. Pierce tossed the ball across field to Terence Gardner who threw to a wide open Dallas Coker in a play that covered 51 yards. The kick failed, but the Bulldogs were back on top 27-24 with 7:54 to play. Norwood got the ball two more times but could not push the ball over the goal line.

"I told them (at the half) we’re only down by 10 points. Norwood had earlier gone ahead of us after being down by 14. I told them not to panic that we still had lots of time left. But I also told them they had to stop making mistakes."

Dolores County got off to a shaky start at best. An interception gave the ball to Norwood at its own 45 but the Mavericks could not take advantage of the take-away. A few minutes later Norwood found itself back near its own 10. A short punt gave the ball to the Bulldogs at the N19. Two plays later the Bulldogs were in the end zone. Gardner, on a halfback pass, threw to a wide open Kail from 18 yards out with 4:32 to play. The pass conversion failed, but DCHS was on the board at 6-0.

DCHS got the ball back a few minutes later in good field position at the N37. Pierce threw to Coker for a 20-yard TD. Pierce rolled but saw an opening and took the ball over the goal for the two-point conversion. DCHS led 14-0 with 1:13 to play in the quarter.

Both teams traded possessions early in the second quarter. It was the Mavericks turn to take advantage of good field position. Jeremy Spor was the workhorse for Norwood as he carried several times off-tackle. In fact, Spor would carry the ball off-tackle all day long for large gains. From the DC6, Jimmy Sitlington passed to Justin Ludwig who was wide open in the corner end zone line. The pass failed. DCHS led 14-6 with 7:28 on the clock.

The Mavericks took advantage on a fumble at the DC16 on the ensuing kickoff return. It took Norwood several plays from there to finally punch the ball over. Spor ran to the far side and then turned the corner from 4-yards out with 5:53 to play in the half. The pass failed. DCHS led 14-12.

DCHS went three-and-out. Norwood got the ball in good field position at the DC45. Spor carried three straight times, again off tackle, and he finally scored from 19 yards out after several Bulldogs missed tackles. The pass failed. Norwood now held a slim 18-14 lead with 3:00 to play in the half.

Another pass interception on the Bulldogs’ next possession set up the next quick score. From the DC49, Sitlington passed to a wide open Ludwig over the middle for a TD. The run failed, but Norwood was now in control at 24-14 with 2:12 to go. The Bulldogs marched all the way down to the N25, but a pass interception ended the threat. Norwood got the ball on its own 11 and marched up to the DC40 when time expired in the half.

The Bulldogs controlled the ball for much of the third quarter. In the first series, they really didn’t move the ball far. But neither did Norwood on its first possession of the second half. Dove Creek got the ball in good field position at its own 38. They methodically marched down field, mixing up plays. The soon found themselves all the way down to the N5. But an interception ended the drive.

The Bulldogs are now 7-0 and 2-0 in league. They travel to Nucla which very well could be for the league title at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14. But they would still have to get by Mancos which they visit on Oct. 27.

On paper, it looked like the game was about a even toss up as to which team would win the San Juan Basin League contest. Both teams were struggling with only one win each during the season. Neither had looked like it would dominate the other one. But the Blue Jays came ready to play. The Bears, who were involved in Homecoming activities, appeared not ready to play Friday night, Oct. 6, at Dolores Field.

The first quarter went by very quickly. Dolores took the opening kickoff at its own 15 and marched to the Mancos 39. Garrett Nielson made some nice carries. The Blue Jays took over at their own 34. Philip Wilson put up some good numbers carrying the football. The ground game by Mancos helped set up some nice passes by Kelley Smith. They got the ball all the way down to the D2 when time expired in the quarter. Wilson carried the ball to the D1 and then he dove over the goal line with 11:24 on the clock. Travis Clark booted the point-after for a 7-0 lead.

Dolores went three plays and kicked early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs got the ball on their own 38 and marched to the D12 before an interception ended the threat. But the Bears could not do anything with the ball. A fumbled stopped them cold. The Blue Jays could not do much with the ball and was forced to punt. Dolores got the ball back and failed to advance it very far. The punt was blocked and Jeremiah Muniz picked the ball up and ran 22 yards to paydirt with 1:04 to play in the half. Mancos was up 14-0 following the kick by Clark. Dolores got the ball back but an interception stopped them at the M35. The Jays ran out the clock.

The Blue Jays received the kickoff and marched from their own 34 down to the D17. Again, Wilson was the main ball carrier. Clark attempted a field goal, but it was blocked. Then Dolores fumbled it and Mancos recovered at the D6. Wilson got the call swept in from there. Smith tossed to Muniz for the conversion. Mancos was up 22-0 with 8:07 showing.

On the kickoff, Dolores fumbled the ball back to Mancos at the D28. The Jays had apparently scored, but it was called back because of a penalty. Two plays later, Mancos scored. Smith connected on a screen pass to Nick Rubino with 6:30 to play. Clark hit the PAT for a 28-0 lead. On Dolores’ second play following the kicking, the Bears gave the ball back on an interception at D14. Two plays later, Mancos put more points on the board when Smith passed to Muniz from 12 yards out with 5:23 on the clock. The pass failed, and MHS was in total control at 34-0.

The Bears finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter. The TD was set up following a fumble. Moving from their own 33, Zion guided his team down the field. He completed a nice 25-yarder to Kevin Fane and another couple to Waylon Bennett. From the M34, Zion hit Justin Schmitt and he covered the yardage untouched. The run failed. Mancos led 34-6 with 8:26 to play.

Mancos got the ball back in good position at its own 40. Wilson carried for 10 to put the ball on the mid-field stripe. Muniz, on a counter, broke several tackles and then outran the opposition for another Mancos TD. Clark booted the PAT for a 41-6 lead. Late in the quarter following a pass interception, the Blue Jays scored when Muniz intercepted and ran 88 yards back for the touchdown along the side line. The kick failed for the final 47-6 count.

The Blue Jays, 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league, have worked themselves back into the playoff picture. They visit Norwood at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bears fell to 1-6 and 0-2. They host Ignacio for a nonconference game at 7 p.m. Friday.

GRAND JUNCTION — They played hard and well for a time but the Bulldogs just outmanned the Panthers in Class 3A Western Slope football action Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7, at Stocker Stadium. Palisade improved to 6-1 and 4-0 in league while Montezuma-Cortez fell to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in league.

Cortez played well and with enthusiasm. The boys played better than they had the week before at Homecoming against Delta. Without Josh Lee and Josh Knapp, the Panthers were simply outmanned. About mid-way throught the third quarter, the Panthers were tired and the stronger Bulldogs pulled away.