Revenge was sweet for the Alliance seventh grade football team in a rematch battle with Chadron on Tuesday. The Bulldogs raced to a 16 to 0 halftime lead and went on to a post a 28 to 14 win over the Cardinals. In a ball game played in perfect conditions at Bulldog stadium, AMS avenged an earlier loss to the Cards back on September 21. Alliance controlled both sides of the line scrimmage and improved to 4 and 2 for the year. The Bulldogs got some solid plays on defense from a numbers of players and offensive product from Jace Jensen, Enzo Kappius, Dixon Bair, and Roy Torres in getting the victory.
Alliance got the ball first and quickly found success. Bulldog quarterback Jensen raced 37 yards on the game’s first play that set up Alliance’s first score. Big gains by Bair and Kappius got the Dogs inside the Chadron 10 yard line. At the 6:21 mark of the first period, Torres crossed the end zone on a 3 yard TD score. The PAT was good on a pass from Jensen to Bair as Alliance surged ahead 8 to 0. Momentum then stayed with the Bulldogs on the defensive side. On the Cards first play, a hard hit by the Alliance D caused a fumble which was recovered by Bulldog linebacker Quinton Schroth that gave the Dogs the ball back at midfield. An 11 yard run by Kappius started the drive and a 2 yard gain by Jensen on fourth and 1 continued the possession. With 3:34 showing on the clock, Jenson finished off the drive with a 29 yard td run. The point after was good on a pass to Torres that put the hosts up 16 to 0. Period #1 would end with no more points and AMS leading by 16.
Bulldog defense was again up for the challenge in the early moments of the second. Keys defensive plays by Kappius, Jensen, and Atreus Walker denied the Cardinals any scores as Chadron turned the ball over on downs. Back on offense, AMS got big gains by Kappius, Jensen, and Bair before being forced to punt. The half ended with both teams having one more possession and no more points on the scoreboard. At half, Alliance led 16 to 0.
On the first series of the third, it was the guests finding success. A 16 yard run by the visitors advanced the ball into Alliance territory. Chadron capped off their drive with a 22 yard touchdown pass that sliced their deficit to 16 to 6 with 3 minutes remaining the quarter. It would take the Dogs just 2 plays to increase their advantage. A 62 yard td run by Bair put the Bulldogs ahead 22 to 6 with 2:11 showing on the clock. The Cards quickly responded with their second score on the ensuing drive. Chadron used just 3 plays to found the end zone on a 6 yard touchdown run. The extra point was good as the guests pulled within 8 at 22 to 14 with 1 minute left in the period. AMS would get two nice carries by Kappius that ended the quarter with AMS up by 8.
At the 7 minute mark of the final period, Jensen scored the Bulldogs fourth TD on a 45 yard run. The point after was no good as the Alliance grew to 28 to 14. Chadron would threaten of their next series but a hard hit by Alliance’s Walker caused a fumble which was covered by the Dogs. Starting at the 47, AMS started to take off seconds off the clock. Big runs by Jensen gave the Bulldogs a first down and kept the clock ticking. Eventually, AMS turned the ball over on downs but left the Cards with only 2 minutes for a comeback. The comeback was denied as a sack by Alliance’s Jackson Chasek caused another Cardinal fumble which was covered by the Dogs. AMS got into victory formation and ran out the final one minute of action. Final Alliance 28 Chadron 14
CHAD 0 0 14 0 14
ALL 16 0 6 6 28
The Bulldogs end their season with a home game on Saturday with Mitchell.