Doggers take down Panthers

A storm was not the only thing to roll into Saratoga on Friday night, as the Fort Laramie-Lingle Doggers (1-0, 1-0) overpowered the Saratoga Panthers (0-1, 0-1) 13 to 46.

Head Coach Scott Bokelman said there is still a learning curve for many of the younger and inexperienced players.

"Our youth is really what showed, especially on the line," he said. "We have to work on staying on our blocks."

After giving up three touchdowns on turnovers, Bokelman stressed they have to continue working on ball control.

The Doggers were running a variation of a T-formation offense - a style of football which is unusual in modern football. Bokelman said they were expecting it, but they made some mistakes leading to big plays.

"With defending [the T-formation] it comes down to staying in your lanes," he said. "Sometimes we were caught with nobody left."

Bokelman said he is pleased with how physical his players were during the game and how they improved from last week's scrimmage against Pine Bluffs.

The Doggers drew first blood in the first quarter, scoring with a 13-yard run. The Doggers then recovered a Panther football on the following kick off. The Doggers scored on 29-yard pass on fourth down; giving them a 14 to 0 advantage over the Panthers with 4:40 left in first quarter.

Despite stalling on their next offensive drive, the Panther defense answered. Kyle Bartlett stripped the ball from a Dogger running back, taking it half the field for a defensive touchdown with 2:15 in the first quarter.

"We talk about stopping the run and tackling in practice and anytime you see a ball free, you have to take it," Bokelman said. "It's good for our kids to see how plays like that are really game-changing plays."

In the beginning of the second quarter, the Doggers kicked a long field goal, which gave them a two-possession advantage over the Panthers.

The Doggers scored on a 60-yard swing-pass play with 5:11 remaining in the second quarter. Both offenses were stopped on their next drives, ending a wild first half with a score of 7 to 24.

The Panther defense stepped up in beginning the second half, allowing no scores in the third quarter. As the game progressed, lightening strikes caused a two-and-a-half hour delay.

"The kids played hard," he said. "Sometimes when they're down, the kids lose a little bit of their mental edge and I think that's what happened ... they played hard most of the game, we just gave up a couple of touchdowns late in the game."

The Doggers scored three more touchdowns late in the game. However, Panther quarterback Thatcher Spiering was able to scramble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers will go on to face powerhouse Cokeville (2-0, 1-0) this Friday. Cokeville already has two impressive victories over Bear Lake (Montpelier, ID) and Mountain View. Cokeville has allowed an average of 9 points per game, while scoring an average 28.5 points per game. Bokelman said they are planning on spreading the ball out a little more and get back to basic football.

"Week by week, we just want to continue to improve," he said. "That's kind of our goal right now, and I think we will get better as the year goes on."