HARRISON, Neb. – The Lingle-Fort Laramie Doggers stepped up the defensive intensity in the second half of Friday’s 58-48 win over the Sioux County Warriors and nearly pitched a shutout over the final 20 minutes of the 2018 season opener.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Doggers dating back to Sept. 15, 2017.
“A win is a win is a win is a win,” L-FL coach Matt Cornelius said. “This is the first game of the season for us, and the first game is always a huge learning curve. It’s their second game, and I felt they improved a lot from their first game. I hope we do the same.”
Despite giving up 42 first-half points, Lingle managed to get off to a good start, jumping out to a 27-18 first quarter lead.
There was a stretch in the opening quarter where the teams combined for four scores inside of a minute and a half time frame, leaving the score tied at 12 only four minutes into the contest.
Three minutes later, Hill connected with sophomore Cordell Forkner on a 17-yard touchdown pass putting the Doggers back in front.
It was a lead L-FL held until early in the second quarter when Sioux County shut down the Lingle offense in the second quarter, leaving the visitors trailing by 13 at half.
“I think the kids were a little shell-shocked playing not to miss a tackle instead of playing to make a tackle which are two completely different aspects of the defense,” Cornelius said.
Coming out of half, the Doggers quickly flipped the momentum in their favor with Sioux County quarterback Tommy Watson, who had combined for five Warrior scores in the first half, on the bench.
Scores by Forkner, junior Alex Pugsley and sophomore Dustin Swartwood put the visitors back in front by a touchdown heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
In the final quarter, Pugsley added his third touchdown of the game giving the Doggers a 16-point lead with under seven minutes to play.
The Warriors capped off the game with its only score of the second half with only seconds left on the clock.
“In the second half, I felt like we grabbed a gear and attacked on their tackles instead of playing defense to not miss a tackle,” Cornelius said. “I hope that continues into the next game and rest of season. If it does, we will get nothing but better.”
The Doggers (1-0) hosts NSI Academy (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m.
“We learned a lot,” Cornelius said. “We played scared the first half, and I’m really proud of the kids for coming back and playing strong in the second. It shows a lot of character and integrity to come back from something like that.”
