Craig Daily Press / CMS caps off perfect season

Archive for Friday, October 5, 2007

Defense forces two turnovers in final minutes to seal victory against rival Steamboat Springs

October 5, 2007

Seventh-graders beat Sailors, 45-0

Bubba Ivers ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Craig Middle School seventh grade squad past the Steamboat Springs Middle School seventh-graders Thursday night.

"I credit my offensive line," Ivers said. "Every time I touched the ball, I was in the open field. I made a few moves and a few stiff-arms to make them miss."

Wyatt Uptain and Joshua Prichard each pitched in with a rushing touchdown and Conner Podline intercepted two errant Sailor passes, returning one for a score.

"I just raced to the sideline and followed my blocks," Podline said. "From there - it was all good."

The seventh-graders finished the season undefeated with a record of 8-0.

JV match against Berthoud canceled

The Moffat County High School junior varsity team has canceled its match against Berthoud Friday.

The varsity squad hasn't changed its schedule.

Kick-off is at 7 p.m.

Craig — Heading into the much-anticipated rematch with rival Steamboat Springs, the Craig Middle School football team didn't disappoint.

Falling behind early, the Bulldogs fought back behind a stingy defense to defeat the Sailors, 14-8, Thursday night at Moffat County High School.

The victory capped a perfect season for CMS as they finished the year 8-0.

"This was a very hard fought game," coach Gary Tague said. "It always has been, but we came out on top."

The Sailors' Evan Hornstein broke around right tackle three minutes into the contest, scampering untouched for a 77-yard score and an 8-0 Steamboat lead.

The Bulldogs defense took over from there.

CMS allowed only four first downs and forced two Sailors turnovers.

Bobby Kyle put the Bulldogs on the board in the second quarter, bulldozing his way to a 20-yard touchdown run.

Mason Updike - lined up at the quarterback position - utilized the sneak to perfection, scoring on a 2-yard run to take the lead in the third quarter.

With Steamboat charging and just more than three minutes remaining in the contest, the CMS defense came through in the clutch.

The Bulldogs forced two turnovers, sealing the victory.

"The defense stepped up," Tague said. "They rose to the occasion."

Braeden Sullivan led CMS with107 yards rushing on 23 carries and intercepted an errant Sailors pass with less than two minutes left in the game.

"I saw the ball in the air, and I thought, 'I gotta get this - I gotta have it,'" Sullivan said. He'd rather play defense rather than offense, although he toted the rock more than 20 times.

"I like to hit people," he said. "I'm ready to move up to the big-boys level now."