YOUR AD HERE »

Steamboat rolls over Moffat County, 57-15

Nate Waggenspack
Moffat County's Brett Loyd breaks through a tackle in the first quarter of Moffat County's home opener against Steamboat on Friday. The Bulldogs were beaten badly, 57-15, and fell to 0-3 this season.
Nate Waggenspack

— In the first home game of the season, it was another nightmare for the Moffat County football team.

The Bulldogs lost, 57-15, to their rivals from across the Yampa Valley, Steamboat Springs, and fell to 0-3 this season. Steamboat is now 2-1 and has put up 94 points in two weeks after falling to Eagle Valley in Week One.

The game started with very little offense but plenty of scoring anyway. Steamboat’s Bill Clark took the opening kickoff up the middle and went untouched into the end zone to give the Sailors a 7-0 lead.



After a punt from Moffat County, the Sailors airmailed a snap over quarterback Zach Holm’s head, and the Bulldogs recovered it in the end zone to tie the game at seven.

The tight feel of the game disappeared soon after that, however. Clark intercepted an overthrow from Moffat quarterback Matt Hamilton on an out route and returned it for a touchdown to make it 14-7. It was a dream start to the game for the Steamboat junior.



“Those plays got us going,” Clark said. “They got our momentum going; it just never stopped.”

After that, it became the Mitch McCannon show. The junior running back and slot receiver returned Moffat County’s next punt for a touchdown, and Steamboat converted a two-point conversion to make it 22-7.

McCannon would return another punt for a touchdown, catch passes of 66 and 67 yards for TDs and finish the half with a 23-yard score as the Sailors piled it on to take a 57-7 lead at the break.

“Man, that was great,” McCannon said about the Sailors’ performance. “I felt like I could beat their (defensive backs) one-on-one, and Zach (Holm), our quarterback, has an awesome arm, and he was on tonight.”

For the Bulldogs, it was a rough evening in every facet of the game, especially on special teams, surrendering three kick returns for touchdowns.

“They run that kick back and what a way to capture the momentum,” head coach Kip Hafey said. “I was proud of our guys for coming back and getting that defensive touchdown, but man, the big plays, they just killed us. It’s hard to deal with so many big plays.”

Moffat County quarterback Matt Hamilton struggled in his return from injury, throwing four interceptions in the game.

In the second half, the clock moved quickly, but Brett Loyd capped off a Moffat County drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 57-15.

It was the first win against Moffat County for every member on the Steamboat football team.

“Beating Craig for the first time in four years feels great,” McCannon said. “Now, it’s up to us to keep moving forward and move on to the next opponent.”

For Moffat County, it is back to the drawing board. The Bulldogs will suit up against Delta next week, looking for their first win of the season.

“We’ve got to stay positive, and we’ve got to keep working hard,” Hafey said. “That’s all you can do. Our kids, they’re winners in my book for how they responded in the second half.”

Nate Waggenspack can be reached at 970-875-1795 or nwaggenspack@CraigDailyPress.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.