Dogs secure playoff spot with win over Wildcats

Carter County High School defeated the Wildcats in Circle last Thursday to secure their spot in the Montana 8-Man football playoffs.

The Bulldogs went fifty-two yards on 9 plays in the game’s opening drive for their first score. The score came on a short quarterback keeper up the middle by Turner Tooke. The ensuing conversion try failed.

After a defensive stand, the Bulldogs had a holding call on their second possession that pinned them deep in their own territory, forcing them to punt the ball for the first time this season. The punt was very short, but the Dawgs got a fourth down stop to take over possession of the ball on downs.

Blue’s third offensive possession went 11 plays deep and flopped field position before it ended after a failed attempt to convert a fourth down. Circle flopped field position again with a 10 play drive of their own that ended without a score.

The Dogs then took advantage. A few long runs led to another quarterback keeper up the middle for a short touchdown just as time expired in the first half. Ryan Rychner ran in the conversion to put Blue up 14-0 at halftime.

Circle scored on the third play of the second half. The play was a 34-yard touchdown pass that came due to a broken coverage in the Dawgs’ secondary. With 11:24 left in the third quarter, it was suddenly a 14-6 game.

Blue was moving the ball on the following possession, but a fumble on the quarterback-halfback exchange gave the Wildcats momentum. That momentum was short lived as two plays later Bulldog defensive tackle Jaden Pardee forced and recovered a fumble. The Dogs took advantage and marched down the field in 7 plays, again scoring on a short Tooke keeper up the middle. The Dogs failed to make the two-point conversion but had a 20-6 lead.

Circle marched back and scored on their next series. The drive was aided by two big pass interference calls and was eventually capped by a 7 yard touchdown pass.

Rychner caught a Tooke pass and scampered 36 yards into the end zone on the Dogs’ next offensive possession. Shayne Enos ran in the conversion and the Dogs had a 28-12 advantage.

Circle came back with an answer and capped a scoring drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 28-18. Each team then got fourth down stops on defense.

CCHS had a fourth and ten from around Circle’s 34 yard line after their defensive stop. Tooke turned a broken pass play into a long touchdown run with 4:31 left in the game to give the Bulldogs a 34-18 lead, effectively sealing a victory. A Tooke pass to Seth Kennedy for the conversion was the game’s final score as the Dogs went on to win 36-18.

The win assured the Bulldogs a spot in the Montana 8-Man playoffs. This Friday they take on Westby-Grenora at home. A win over the Thunder can move them up in the division standings and would result in a higher seed for the playoffs.