For the first time in nearly two decades, Haxtun met the neighboring Fleming Wildcats for a gridiron contest. The two teams played an eight-man game on Fleming's six-man field for the Wildcats' annual homecoming contest on the same day as the community's Fall Festival celebration.

Originally, Haxtun was slated to face Wiley at home Friday evening but a tragic accident Wednesday evening claimed the lives of four Wiley students and left a fifth critically injured in a Colorado Springs hospital.

Fleming was scheduled to take on Flagler Saturday afternoon for homecoming but the Panthers were forced to cancel the game early last week due to lack of eligible and healthy players.

The two scenarios brought the Wildcats and Bulldogs together on the football field as Fleming Head Coach John King faced off against Haxtun Head Coach JD Stone, his former player. When Stone, a Fleming High School graduate, played for the Wildcats, Fleming was in a transition from six- to eight-man football.

"I was more nervous to coach against the man that made me want to become a coach than any other game that I've ever been part of," Stone said following the contest Saturday. "John is a great coach and an amazing mentor and has been for every kid who has played for him, myself included."

After the news of the tragedy in Wiley Thursday morning, Haxtun and Fleming scheduled a Saturday afternoon contest, leaving each team just two days to prepare for adjustments in field size and in player numbers.

"I wish both teams would have had more time to prep for the game. Our kids came out and played fast and physical even with the extreme heat," Stone said. "I played six-man, but we played some eight-man games my last couple years in school preparing to move up to eight-man right after I graduated, so I know how hard it was for the Fleming kids to transition in two days. They are a very good team and will make a lot of noise this post season."

As temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees, a helicopter landed on the Wildcats' field to deliver game balls for Fleming's homecoming football and volleyball contests from alumni Row Carwin.

Shortly after kickoff, the Bulldogs found themselves in scoring position and capitalized on a gap for a 12-yard touchdown run from senior running back Isaac Andersen. Quarterback Owen Knode kept the ball for the two-point conversion to put Haxtun on the board first, 8-0.

The Bulldogs saw openings in Fleming's defense and utilized it for three additional unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter to go up 32-0. Scoring in the second quarter slowed as the Bulldogs punched in one touchdown with just four seconds left before half time by means of a 54-yard Knode pass to senior David Avery. Haxtun held the advantage at halftime, 38-0.

The Bulldog defense continued to stop Fleming on their home field as Haxtun shut out the Wildcats, 46-0, handing the team their first loss since post-season play in November 2018.

The Bulldogs completed 55 plays against the Wildcats including 19 first downs. Knode led his offense, completing five of eight passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Avery was on the receiving end of one of Knode's passes for a 54-yard touchdown as was Keegan Colglazier for a 16-yard touchdown.

Haxtun earned 308 rushing yards against Fleming's defense led by Andersen. The senior carried the ball 17 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Gerk tallied 67 yards off seven carries followed by Kailin Kelley with 56 yards and one touchdown.

As a team, the Bulldogs tallied 56 tackles. Andersen led his team on defense with 14 total tackles followed by Kelley with 11 and Grant Statz with seven.

Andersen and Kelley each registered a sack on the Wildcat quarterback.

The win in Fleming gives Haxtun a perfect 3-0 start to the season as they begin league play this week against Caliche. The two are slated to face off on Saturday at Adam Wernsman Field for Bulldogs' annual homecoming match up at 1 p.m. According to Maxpreps, Caliche enters the contest at 1-2 overall with losses to Simla and Vail Christian. The Buffs recently defeated Rangely, 24-18 in overtime.

"Through our non-league schedule we feel we have cleaned up some stuff on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and are excited to finish 3-0 but are ready to get after the grind of league play," said Stone. "Caliche always plays us tough, we have an extra day of practice this week and we will take advantage of it in preparation for Saturday's game."