LINGLE – Back in the middle of August, the Lingle-Fort Laramie Doggers found out their week one opponent – St. Stephens – wasn’t sure they’d be able to field a football team. As a result, the teams decided to cancel the game and reschedule it with a sub-varsity team from Cheyenne Central High School.

“It’s honestly good for us to go out and play football against another opponent,” LFL coach Brandon Gifford said. “Practices get long, and we didn’t scrimmage last week. It was nice to finally play a game.”

When the dust settled on a rare Friday morning contest at Kirk Field, the Doggers ran away with a 71-0 win over the Central Indians.

“We have a lot of young guys, and we know our numbers are an issue,” Gifford said. “It was good for us to have a game like this where we can a lot of guys a lot of reps.”

It didn’t take long for Lingle to find the end zone.

After a quick 3-and-out by the Indians, junior Louden Bremer broke free for a 23-yard run to put the Doggers in front 7-0.

By the time there was 5:25 left in the opening quarter, the Doggers had run only four offensive plays but had scored three times. Senior quarterback Nolan Spears sprinted 15 yards for a Dogger touchdown, and Spears also connected with Bremer on a 10-yard pass to put the home team in front 20-0.

By the end of the first 12 minutes, the Doggers led 34-0, adding another 16 points in the second quarter to take a 50-0 lead into halftime.

With the running clock rule in affect for the entire second half, Colt Brown, Kaleb Smith and Anthony Arnusch added touchdowns, pushing the Dogger lead to 71.

The Dogger defense held Central to -53 yards of offense. Junior Cooper Smith led the Lingle defense with three assisted tackles and three solo stops. Three of his tackles for a loss, including a sack. He also had a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Senior Jaden VanGundy added four unassisted tackles, including three for a loss and two sacks.

Meanwhile, the Lingle offense racked up 295 yards of offense.

“We’ll go back and watch film. There is a lot we need to fix and a lot we have to work on, but I’m excited,” Gifford said. “We got a lot of guys some good reps, and it’s going to come down to the guys who are willing to make plays. I think a lot of our conference games are going to come down to one or two possessions or series that will make a difference in the game.”

The Doggers (1-0) opened conference play on Thursday night against the Niobrara County (0-1) Tigers. On Friday, Sept. 15, they travel to Guernsey for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“They are tough. They play hard. They are going to get off the ball really well. They are really, really physical,” Gifford said. “That’s the name of the game right off the bat. We need to match their physicality and intensity.”

He added they have been going to the air a little more than in past years.

“They have a unique set to them that we aren’t used to seeing out of Lusk,” Gifford said.