Patriots take down Dogies

The Upton-Sundance Patriots faced off against the Newcastle Dogies in the first home game of the season. A stiff defense helped the Patriots walk away with a 28-6 victory.

Opening the game on defense, it took the Patriots a few plays to stiffen up and begin holding their line, forcing the Newcastle Dogies to punt the ball away. A good return to the 47-yard line put the Patriots in position to start their drive down the field.

Making their way to the 32-yard line, the Patriots' Levi Rudloff found a hole, and took it into the endzone putting six points on the board for the Patriots. Reece Barritt added two more points to the board as a muffed snap sent him into the endzone for the two-point conversion, putting the Patriots up 8-0 in the first quarter. 

The Newcastle Dogies were quick to counter, pushing their way down the field behind their workhorse Holden McConkey. Unfortunately for the Dogies, the Patriots were able to trip up a counter play in the backfield and force the Dogies to punt the ball away.

As the quarter ran down, the Patriots drove to midfield but a hard hit on Barritt forced a fumble and the Dogies took over as time expired in the first.

As the second quarter began, the Dogies were making a swift drive down the field. A timeout called by the Dogies sets up the quarterback draw putting Newcastle in scoring position.

Facing a first and goal, the Dogies stayed with their play and pushed their way down to the one-yard line, where Slade Roberson powered his way in for the touchdown. Looking to add two more, the Dogies attempted a two-point conversion but fell short, leaving the score 6-8 in favor of the Patriots. 

It was a back and forth for the rest of the second quarter as the Dogies continued their direct snaps on offense and the Patriot defense began to stop the runs. With less than two minutes remaining in the quarter, Patriot quarterback Keaton Mills and Reece Barritt began working the Patriots into scoring position once again.

Newcastle called a timeout, hoping to slow the Patriot momentum. Unfortunately for the Dogies, the Patriots had found their groove as Mills found Luca Brooks on the slant route, sending him into the endzone and adding another six to the board for the Patriots (14-6) as the second quarter came to a close.

The teams traded turnovers to start the second half until the Patriots were able to pull a fast one on the Dogies as Levi Rudloff once again took the counter handoff and was able to waltz into the endzone, unscathed, from 23 yards out. A successful kick from Rudloff added one more to the board putting the Patriots up 21-6 with one quarter left to play. 

The fourth quarter brought the Dogies offense back into direct snaps, allowing them to gain some short yardage. It looked like the Dogies were going to get a good drive started as they were advancing the ball to mid field; however, Levi Rudloff knifed in to drop McConkey for a loss of two, changing the momentum, and forcing the Dogies to punt as time began to run out. 

With the second half winding down, the Patriot offense took the ball back at the 15-yard line and drove it all the way down to the 21-yard line, where their drive stalled out and they faced a turnover on downs. While their drive did not result in any points, it did run a significant chunk of time off of the clock. 

A bad snap on the Dogies first down put them behind the chains and forced them into passing situations. Two incomplete passes and the Dogies were forced to punt.

Patriots' Aidan Coberly forced his way through the line and blocked the punt, while Jesse Harmon was able to fall on the ball in the endzone for a Patriot touchdown. Another successful extra point by Rudloff put the Patriots up 28-6.

The Dogies tried for the endzone one last time, but the Patriot defense held their line and the Patriots took the 28-6 victory in their home opener.

Next up for the Patriots is the number one ranked Wheatland Bulldogs on Fri., Sept. 17 in Wheatland

Stats from the game:

Rushing

Levi Rudloff – 13 carries for 119 yards and 2 TDs

Reece Barritt – 7 carries for 42 yards

Keaton Mills – 10 carries for 31 yards

Ryder Downey – 5 carries for 24 yards

Luca Brooks – 2 carries for 15 yards

Passing

K. Mills – 10 for 19, 120 yards and 1 TD

Receiving

Jesse Harmon – 3 receptions for 60 yards

R. Barritt – 2 for 22 yards

L. Rudloff – 3 for 21 yards

R. Downey – 1 for 10 yards

Luca Brooks – 1 for 7 yards and 1 TD

Defense Top 5

Nathan Baker – 18 points, 9 Assisted Tackles, 3 Unassisted Tackles, and 1 Tackle for Loss

Levi Rudloff – 16 points, 5 AT, 2 UT, 1 TFL, and 2 Pass Break Ups

Keaton Mills – 14 points, 6 AT and 4 UT

Kaedyn Fletcher – 7 AT and 1 TFL

Aidan Coberly – 3 AT and Blocked Kick