As they headed off the field for the final time this fall, the members of the Moffat County football program were a bundle of emotions, but chief among them was a familiar sensation. Victory.

MCHS closed out its season Friday night with a 27-12 win over the Middle Park Panthers, the lone W at home for the Bulldogs in a 3-6 year full of growing pains and personal triumph alike.

Senior salute

The Dogs’ roster this season was one heavy with both freshmen and seniors, but it was the older members of the squad who had a special ceremony in store.

With one dozen seniors, the pre-game send-off took some time as all 12 upperclassmen got a turn in the spotlight — Gavin Barrett, Kolbee Cheek, Cody Dade, Adam Delay, CR Dial, Zach Hedman, Devin Key, Tristan LePlatt, Damien Lira, Osbaldo Quintana, Xavriel Robles and Clayton Vandersluis.

Senior cheerleaders Jojo Fraipont and Alexus Noland were also highlighted at halftime.

Besides the traditional announcement, players also got a unique show leading up to kickoff as the family of CR Dial arranged for the delivery of the game ball by Utah Helicopter Tours, the pigskin handed off by Dial’s cousin, Savannah Malmrose.

Friday’s game marked the end of four years of football for some seniors, while others were capping the end of their only season competing in the sport for MoCo.

Both Kolbee Cheek and Gavin Barrett were on the gridiron for the first year, both using it as conditioning for winter activities.

“It’s really prepared me for wrestling this year, hopefully I won’t get beat up as bad this year,” Cheek laughed.

Barrett likewise said he’s looking forward to being more physical on the basketball court in the coming months.

“Football, you’ve got to have more grit, you’ve got be able to do things you don’t want to do and be aggressive,” he said. “Everybody is a family here and so connected and treats everybody with respect, and that’s what I’m gonna miss.”

The Key to offense

While Zach Hedman has been the workhorse of the Bulldog backfield this season — scoring a touchdown on a goal line push late in the first period against the Panthers — it was another senior who got their breakout game against Middle Park.

Devin Key achieved the first TD of his career early in the second period, liking the end zone so much he made his way there twice more throughout the evening, including a fourth quarter breakaway that saw him score off a nearly 40-yard carry.

“I was just on a dead sprint for that one, I was really feeling it,” Key said.

The Bulldogs had their best yardage numbers of the entire fall Friday, with 392 total rushing yards and three players in triple digits — Hedman (163), Key (120) and Osbaldo Quintana (101).

“I really thought I’d just be a blocker for this one, but it turned out I got to score this time,” Key said. “Our line was the best I’ve ever seen tonight. I love those guys.”

MCHS has struggled with its passing game this season, going through multiple quarterbacks since starting league play, though freshman Jax Nelson said he felt far more confident Friday than when he first started in the position several weeks ago.

“I’m nervous, but I’m doing what I can,” said Nelson, who also snagged an interception as a defensive back. “This year was a learning process because I went straight from eighth-grade to varsity, and I had to learn how to read things quicker, make better passes, throw faster, just gotta show up and work hard. We showed up, executed and wanted to get a good win for the seniors.”

Defending the Doghouse

After one of its best seasons in the school’s history, Bulldog football found itself plagued by myriad injuries this fall, forcing coaches to reconfigure the gameplan week by week as younger athletes acclimated to new positions.

The team has also had to contend with schools in their conference who have stepped up their games considerably, such as Coal Ridge and Aspen, which provided far more competition this fall, as well as perennial playoff contenders Basalt and Delta.

Still, the battle to avoid being at the bottom of the 2A Western Slope League rankings was at the forefront of MoCo minds Friday, and Middle Park’s similar plight of a dwindling roster — the Panthers only suited up 15 players for their final game — made for a match where both squads were giving their all.

While not everything went their way, MCHS head coach Nick Colgate said the Dogs’ group dynamic was where it needed to be after a season of growth through hardship.

“Lot of ups and downs — our younger kids kept getting better and our seniors kind of led that path and worked their butts off,” he said. “Our younger kids are better men for going through it so we can build on it.”

Colgate added that chief among the Moffat County effort in its finale was the showing by its most seasoned members, senior linemen Cody Dade, Adam Delay, Tristan LePlatt and Clayton Vandersluis, up front for both offense and defense.

Dade led the tackle total with 11 hits, LePlatt had three, and Delay recovered an onside kick among the night’s highlights, while Vandersluis had a two-point conversion and the only sack of the game.

“Our senior O-line was definitely the anchor, the support system, we just kind of had to work around them with everyone else,” he said.

While many on the Bulldog roster had season-ending injuries, the linemen played through the pain, such as Vandersluis, who’s worn a padded cast since Homecoming to accommodate a fractured forearm.

While it didn’t come with the same statewide fanfare as his junior season, he said he was no less satisfied with the final game.

“I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group,” Vandersluis said.