The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

Saturday turned out to be an almost picture perfect afternoon for football. The day kicked off with parent recognition, highlighted past Bulldog State Championship teams and ended with a Haxtun win over Akron. The conference victory over the Rams puts Haxtun 2-3 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Before kickoff, each Bulldog football player recognized their parents, running onto the field with their dads, meeting moms at mid-field, an annual tradition in Haxtun as each season winds down. Following a virtual coin flip, Haxtun received the kickoff and went to work. As the Bulldogs marched down field on their opening drive, Ozzy Coss, a powerhouse in the Bulldog running game this season, went out with an ankle injury. The Bulldog offense didn't seem to let the absence phase them as they faced a fourth down situation. Quarterback Owen Knode dropped back to pass, looking for Kyle Fryrear. Luckily a pass interference call on the Rams gave Haxtun the first down and after several quarterback keepers from Knode, Kailin Kelley found an opening to put the Bulldogs on the board with a five-yard touchdown.

Akron took their first possession on their own 35-yard line but the Bulldog defense wouldn't allow a first down, forcing the visiting team to punt three plays later. Haxtun took over on their own 28-yard line and a block in the back call pushed the ball back another 10 yards, eventually leading the Bulldogs to punt on their second possession of the game. Just seconds later Haxtun recovered a fumble at mid-field and marched down field, picking up a fourth down with another Knode keeper. Haxtun came within yards of the goal but struggled to punch the ball in the end zone. The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs on the four-yard line but again the Rams offense struggled to pick up a first down and punted it away.

As the home team took the ball over on the 50-yard line, Knode found himself deep in the backfield and suffered a sack. The quarterback kept composure and with 26 seconds left on the clock, found Fryrear open for a touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 12-point lead. The Bulldogs capitalized on a successful onside kick on the kickoff and took possession on the 45-yard line. With under 25 seconds to go, Knode spiked the ball to stop the clock and on the next play, Michael Gerk found the gap for a 33-yard run to give Haxtun their second touchdown in 21 seconds. Haxtun held an 18-0 advantage at the half.

During halftime activities, current Bulldog players honored teams from 1990 and 2000, both of which brought home the 8-man championship title. This year's captains took the championship trophies from those years to mid-field so players could, again, hoist the gold ball. The two teams were under the direction of then Head Coach John Starkebaum, earning a combined 23-1 record from just those two years alone.

The contest started off slow in the third, Akron eventually finding the end zone with just three and a half minutes on the clock. It wouldn't be long though and Gerk would find an opening for his second touchdown of the game to put Haxtun on top 26-6 heading into the final quarter. Neither team scored in the fourth, giving Haxtun the 20-point, Plains League victory.

The Bulldog offense completed a total of 69 plays Saturday afternoon, including 21 first downs. Knode completed six of 12 passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Gerk also threw for the Bulldogs, connecting with one of two passes for 13 yards on the day.

Gerk led on the receiving end of Knode's arm, picking up 82 yards from five receptions and one touchdown in the air. Fryrear caught two passes for 15 yards and one touchdown.

On the ground, Gerk tallied 110 yards from 16 carries and one rushing touchdown followed by Knode with 83 yards off 19 carries. Kelley carried the ball 17 times for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Senior captain Ryan Tempel racked up 10 tackles on Saturday afternoon including four solo and six assisted. Dylan Buccelli tallied nine tackles and one sack for a loss of six yards. Knode had eight total tackles followed by Gerk with seven and Fryrear with six.

This week the Bulldogs are set to host the Caliche Buffs in another Saturday afternoon contest. According to Maxpreps, the Buffs are currently 0-3 overall with losses to Fowler, Merino and Akron. Game time with Caliche this week is 1 p.m.

Haxtun just added a late game to their schedule and will now face off with Calhan in week seven of high school football action on Friday, Nov. 20.