Bulldogs seem to be the team to beat this year

Bulldogs seem to be the team to beat this year

Aug 25, 2001

KEITH PIERCE, A SENIOR QUARTERBACK and defensive back for Dolores County High School, rolls out to throw a pass during a preseason workout earlier last week at the Weber Park practice field in Dove Creek. Pierce is one of the finest quarterbacks in Colorado. The Bulldogs are the team to beat in the Class A San Juan Basin League race.

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

It may have been Nucla’s year (nearly all sports) in 2000-01, but this year it could be Dolores County’s — at least in football anyway.

The Bulldogs, who made the playoffs a year but were beaten out in the first round, certainly could go a lot further this fall. They are loaded in many important positions with nine returning with most of them starters from a team that advanced to the first round of the Class A playoffs before losing to Sargent.

DCHS is under the guidance once again by longtime coach Ken Soper, a Colorado Coaches Hall of Fame inductee.

Dallas Coker, a senior, was a receiver last year. Senior lineman Bru Meyer was an All-Conference player last season. Senior James Smith was an offensive tackle who also spent time with the defensive line. Lyle Joe , senior, was a guard. Keith Pierce, senior, is an All-Conference and All-State defensive back and a returning quarterback. Junior Joe Buffington was a second-string runningback last year. Trent Daves, junior, is a receiver and middle linebacker. Kyle Krafka, junior, started all season at center last fall. Brandon Neely, junior, tackle is back. Darren Rutherford and Casey Spitzer have played a lot of varsity ball but both missed a portion of last season.

Smith is the biggest at 5-foot-10, 221 pounds. Meyer is 6-1 and 200 and Krafka is right under him at 6-1, 199. Pierce is 6-5, 185. Neely is 6-1, 184 and Joe is 6-0, 176. The Bulldogs then drop down in weight after that.

Offensively, the Bulldogs will use multiple sets but run a lot from the I and slot I formations. Pierce will call the signals with sophomore Matt Beanland as the backup. He is big and has lots of speed, agility, and a decent arm (when not throwing side-armed). DCHS lost a fullback, tailback, and Z-back off last year’s team. Soper is pleased right now with several freshman, but that’s it, they’re freshman with no experience. Soper said that a couple of them may be pressed into immediate varsity duty.

"We have our starting line intact. That is a big plus for us. I would like to keep all of them there, but a couple of them are working out some in the backfield. Smith, Neely and Trinity Cressler are on the line, too. Meyer, and Joe, the team’s fastest linemen, may all carry the ball at times. And they can make it. It really depends on what we do. Coker, the team’s second leading scorer, will be one of the wideouts. Trent Daves will play a lot at as a receiver. The backfield right now is a question mark," he said.

Defense is ahead of the offense.

"I think we will have a really good defense. Krafka and Smith are looking good at the tackles. Buffington and Rutherford are playing well at the ends. Joe is doing well at end as well. Joe could be moved to a linebacker position. Pierce and Coker are back as safeties. Beanland and Daves could be at the corners. We have a veteran line but we could be weak at outside back. And much also depends on what we do at a specific time," Soper noted.

On special teams, Coker will handle some punting duties as will Pierce. Pierce can catch punts but will probably not be used there. Pierce does hold on place-kicking snaps, so the threat of the swinging gate play is there on point-afters or short field goal situations. The Bulldogs are looking for a place-kicker with the graduation of Chris Kail. Place-kicking and kickoff is where they may hurt during the early part of the season. Trying out are Joe and Buffington at doing place-kicker chores. Buffington has an edge right now on kicking field goals with Joe has the edge doing kickoffs.

After a scrimmage today, Aug. 25, at Cortez, the Bulldogs open the regular season at home against Whitehorse, Utah, on a rare Friday afternoon, Aug. 31. They take on AA Bayfield on Sept. 8 in another home date. They travel to AA Ignacio for a game on Sept. 14. Shiprock is on the scheduled for Homecoming, Sept. 22. The final non-conference game will be a home contest against Farmington High JVs, missing from their schedule over the past few years.

The Bulldogs should begin their march to the post-season by visiting Norwood Oct. 5 and Dolores Oct. 12. They are home to Mancos on Oct. 20 and Nucla Oct. 27.