The Bulldogs fought hard on the football field on Oct. 19 – but in the end third-ranked Jefferson proved too tough to overcome as Creswell fell to the host Lions 18-33.
“I felt like we played pretty well,” said Creswell Head Coach Scott Worsham. “We were pretty tough defensively, we were able to move the ball and with just one fumble we were almost mistake-free. It was good to see our guys battle against a quality team like that.”
The Dawgs trailed 6-15 after the first quarter and 12-27 at the half.
Tyler Nicol scored for Creswell in the first quarter on a 28-yard pass from quarterback Dallton Dewey. Dean Howard’s extra-point kick attempt was blocked.
In the second quarter, Tayler Forsman scored on a 47-yard pass from Dewey. Creswell went for two, but Forsman was tackled for no gain and the score was 12-21 with under two minutes remaining in the half.
“Unfortunately, that was just enough time for them to get down the field and score again about 25 seconds before halftime, and that was costly,” Worsham said.
In the third quarter, Creswell was scoreless while Jefferson scored their only touchdown of the second half to make it 12-33.
“Our defense was just stellar in the second half,” Worsham said. “All season, the third quarter’s been what killed us, but it didn’t get out of hand this time.”
Dewey scored for the Bulldogs on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter to bring the score to its final margin. Forsman’s attempted two-point conversion pass to Chase Gallegos was incomplete.
The Dawgs stopped the Lions with about 1.5 minutes left to play, and with no timeouts remaining Creswell put together a hurry-up offense that moved the ball to fourth-and-goal before time ran out.
That final series included a 32-yard run by Nick Mullen and a 36-yard pass from Forsman to Tyler Nicol on the one-yard line. Mullen was stopped as he attempted to plow through for the touchdown, and on the final play Dewey’s attempted pass to Forsman in the endzone was knocked down.
“It was a pretty exciting ending,” Worsham said. “I had a lot of people tell me it was tough to see them lose, but a lot of fun to watch.”
Dewey completed 11 of 28 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Forsman was 1-for-2 for 36 yards.
Forsman made six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown; Nicol made two catches for 64 yards and a touchdown; and Gallegos made three catches for 38 yards.
Dewey made nine carries for 15 yards and a touchdown; Mullen made eight carries for 33 yards; and Forsman made seven carries for 25 yards.
Mullen led the defense with eight tackles; Jaycob Kremer, Logan Johnson and Gabe Hastings each had seven.
Forsman had six tackles and a sack; Tyler Atwood and Marquin Robinson each had three tackles and a sack; and Darrien Hill and Reece Germen each had two tackles and a sack.
The Bulldogs wrap their season Friday at top-ranked Monroe.
In junior Zach Young, “they have probably the best running back in (2A) state; but if we play like we played against Jefferson I think we can give them a good game,” Worsham said. “Our goal is just to finish strong, play hard, leave it all out there on the field and see what happens.”