Bulldogs on the board
MCHS football team shuts down Battle Mountain, 43-31, for season's first win
Game statistics
Moffat County 43, Battle Mountain 31
Box Score
1 2 3 4 F
MCHS 0 28 15 0 43
BMHS 13 12 0 6 31
Team Statistics
Moffat County Battle Mountain
First Downs 4 17
Rushes-yards 28-312 44-289
Passing-yards 77 115
Comp-att-int 2-5-0 9-23-2
Punts 4-130 4-147
Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 3-18 6-55
Scoring
BM - Robbins 3 run (Hervert kick) 8:35
BM - Kundolf pass from Robbins (kick failed) 3:35
MC - Tomlin 60 pass from Linsacum (Raymond kick) 1:22
MC - Salcido 1 run (Raymond kick) 9:18
MC - Salcido 68 run (Raymond kick) 7:18
BM - Robbins 2 run (pass failed) 4:28
MC - Kettle 80 kick return (Raymond kick) 4:11
BM - Sanders 10 pass from Robbins (pass failed) 0:38
MC - Raymond 72 run (Salcido run) 11:38
MC - Salcido 89 run (Raymond kick) 9:36
BM - Robbins 1 run (pass failed) 3:25
Key individual statistics
Rushing
Moffat County
Halen Raymond 10-105 1TD
Pablo Salcido 9-180 3TD
Battle Mountain
Parke Robbins 18-133 3TD
Jon Simpson 20-86
Passing
Moffat County
Matt Linsacum 2-5-77 1TD
Battle Mountain
Parke Robbins 9-20-115 2TD
Receiving
Moffat County
Nathan Tomlin 1-60 1TD
Battle Mountain
Josh Kundolf 4-57 1TD
Reeve Sanders 2-18 1TD
Defense
Jordan Wilson - interception, Nathan Tomlin - interception
Eagle — Halftime in a football game is reserved for a rest period, as well as an opportunity for coaches to make adjustments.
With Moffat County ahead, 28-25, on Friday at Battle Mountain, Bulldog coach Kip Hafey said his team needed to do just that before entering the locker room for the break.
The adjustments worked.
Moffat County blew open a tight game in the third quarter, scoring on consecutive possessions out of the break on its way to a 43-31 victory.
But, it wasn’t the offense Hafey was praising; it was the defense that held the Huskies to consecutive three-and-outs.
“The key was how the defense came out of the half and just shut them down,” Hafey said. “We knew we had to shut down their offense, and the kids came out and really stepped it up.”
Battle Mountain (0-3 overall, 0-2 Western Slope League) came out blazing from the opening kick.
The Huskies chewed up yards on the ground behind their spread-option offensive attack, scoring two quick touchdowns on their way to a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But Moffat County adjusted, owning the second frame.
The Bulldogs (1-2 overall, 1-1 WSL) dropped 28 points on the Huskies in the second quarter.
Junior quarterback Matt Linsacum hooked up with wide receiver Nathan Tomlin for a 60-yard touchdown, Pablo Salcido had back-to-back scoring runs of 1 and 68 yards, and speedy junior Jasen Kettle returned a kick-off 80 yards for a score, as well.
With the game between two winless teams resembling a boxing match with the way both offenses were scoring, Hafey called on his defense at the half.
They responded.
Before the Huskies could muster a first down, the ball game was essentially over.
“We have nine kids playing both ways,” Battle Mountain coach David Joyce said. “Of course fatigue starts to play a role late in the game. I was really expecting to win this game, but Moffat County played hard.”
The Bulldogs managed just four first downs to the Huskies’ 17, and found themselves trailing in time of possession, but when they had the ball they made the best out of it.
Moffat County scored five touchdowns on plays of 60 yards or more.
“Normally you can’t really see a big play until it happens,” Hafey said. “But, tonight, we could almost feel them before they happened. Our coaching staff did an excellent job tonight. We could see the play before it happened.”
With one win down, Moffat County puts its shot at a win streak on the line Friday, when No. 2 state-ranked Palisade visits the Bulldog Proving Grounds.
John Vandelinder can be reached at 875-1793 or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com
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