Townsend Loses To Red Lodge in First Round of Playoffs
 | Author:
Grady Erickson, MT43 News Sports Reporter
MT43 News Sports Reporter |
Townsend Loses to Red Lodge in First Round of Playoffs
Grady Erickson
MT43 News Sports Reporter
The Townsend Bulldogs came into their first-round playoff game ranked number 4 from the Southern B Division and took on the number 1 seeded Red Lodge Rams from the Eastern Division. The Bulldogs were hoping to pull off an upset win on a windy Saturday afternoon on Red Lodges’ home turf field. It didn’t happen
The Townsend defense started the game off strong with a Tavyn Anderson interception and a return to the 42-yard line. The Bulldog's offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnover and had to punt the ball away to the Rams. The Bulldog defense continued its hot start with another interception by Colt Barnard. The Bulldog offense managed to get going after that and Marek Easter capped off the drive with a rushing touchdown to bring the score to 7-0 after the extra point. The Rams scored on their following possession on some strong running and brought the score to 6-7. The Bulldogs blocked the extra point to keep the lead. The next Bulldog drive was stopped when they turned the ball over on an unfortunate pick-six by the Rams. They were able to convert on the two-point conversion to take the lead 14-7. The Bulldogs continued to struggle throwing the ball in the strong winds and turned it over on another interception to end the first quarter.
The second quarter brought on more of the same tough running from the Rams which led to another rushing touchdown to bring the Red Lodge lead to 21-7. The Bulldogs put together a nice drive behind some good running by Marek Easter. The drive bogged down at the 32-yard line that led to a towering 42-yard field goal by Logan Johnson. The score after the field goal was 10-21 with Red Lodge maintaining the lead. The Bulldog's defense held strong on the next Rams possession and forced them to punt. Deegan Mattson aired out a long pass to Tavyn Anderson down to the 6-yard line on the next Bulldog drive. Marek Easter punched in the 6-yard touchdown to bring the score to 17-21 after the good extra point. This is where the score stood at half-time with the Bulldogs right in the game.
The third quarter found Red Lodge still running the ball effectively which led to another rushing touchdown to bring the score to 17-28. On their next possession, the Bulldogs unfortunately threw another interception in the blowing winds. It really was a struggle to get anything done through the air. The Bulldog defense managed to keep the Rams from moving the ball and the offense got the ball back looking to cut into the Rams lead at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with the Bulldogs failing to get anything going on offense and had to punt the ball back to Red Lodge. The Rams broke off a long 70-yard touchdown run to bring their lead to 35-17. The story of the day continued with the Bulldogs turning the ball over one more time to end any chances of a miraculous comeback. The final score was 17-35 with a Red Lodge win.
The Bulldogs had a good season overall, especially in the second half of the year. It was great to watch my fellow seniors finish out their season and stellar football careers at Broadwater County. I know that some of the seniors will get to play again in the future which makes Townsend proud. Go Dawgs!!!
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PhotoCredit: Grady Erickson, BHS Sports Reporter
Image 1 Caption: Teams line up for Star Spangled Banner at Red Lodge football field last weekend.
Grady Erickson, BHS Sports Reporter
