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

Seven games remain on the regular season schedule for the Fightin' Bulldogs. Thus far, the team is 7-4 overall and rank number nine in top 10 standings according to the Colorado High School Activities Association. Granada holds the top spot in all of 1A.

Last week the Bulldogs suffered a close, three-point loss to the Holyoke Dragons but picked up a win the following night over the Otis Bulldogs. Friday night's match up with Holyoke marked the second for the two teams this season. In the first, the Dragons earned a nine-point win on their home court.

This time, the Bulldogs hosted and battled in a close, hard-fought match in front of their home crowd. It all came down to free throws, which allowed Holyoke a notch in the win column, 55-51.

"The boys played really hard against Holyoke," Head Coach Jayden Stieb said. "I was really proud of the efforts. It came down to missed free throws and bad turnovers. We just can't have lapses in focus like that if we want to pull out wins in close games."

Three players led the Bulldog offense against Holyoke. Seniors Owen Knode and David Avery and junior Michael Gerk all notched double digits, each putting 12 points on the board Friday night. Junior Maclin Tempel added eight.

The following night, Haxtun stayed home yet again for a contest with the Bulldogs from Otis.

The home-town Bulldogs put 19 points on the board in the first quarter and 13 in the second to hold a 32-24 advantage at the half. Haxtun's offense exploded in the third quarter, totaling 24 points, to go on to earn a 74-47 victory.

Tempel put 17 points on the board against Otis, the team high. Knode registered 14 points followed by Osman Coss with nine and Isaac Andersen with seven.

This week the Bulldogs will travel as they are set to take on Caliche at the home of the Buffs on Friday night. It will be the second meeting of the two teams this season. Haxtun came out on top, 89-40, in the first contest in mid-December. The Bulldogs will take a break on Saturday and prepare for a contest with top-ranked Briggsdale on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling.

"These final few weeks we need to address mistakes and use them as an opportunity to improve," Stieb said as his team heads into the final few weeks of the regular season. "Moving forward, Lance (Chapdelaine) and I are asking the boys to keep their nose down and grind out each game. We're getting close to the point in the season where we can't have off nights. Each game needs to be the best one we've played."