A pair of long kick returns powered the Bearcats of Scottsbluff past Alliance 37 to 20 in an 8th grade football game played in Alliance on Saturday. In the B battle, it was the hometown Bulldogs getting the W. The Dogs won the 2 period affair 6 to 0. Scottsbluff roared to a 23 to 0 lead in the first quarter and controlled the action throughout. AMS got a pair of scores from Dixon Bair to lead their offense.
Good yards by Bair early in the opener gave AMS hope on their first possession. The Cats would then stop the drive and quickly go to work on offense. From midfield, the Bluffs scored first on a 41 yard TD carry. The point after kick was true and with 2:15 left in the quarter, Alliance was down 7 to 0. A fumble of the ensuing kick by the Bluffs was trouble for the Dogs as SB was able to return the turnover for another score. A good kick by the Cats made it 14 to 0 with 2:15 remaining in period #1. More problems on special teams then continued for the Bulldogs. A bad snap on a punt attempt resulted in 2 more Cat points plus the ball. With 48 seconds showing on the clock, the Bluffs cashed in on the great field position and scored from the 10. After one period of play, the Cats led 23 to 0.
After a Dog punt, the AMS defense had a nice series. A strong tackle by Tatum Devlin foiled the Bearcat’s next try. Starting from 32, the Bulldogs got another nice gain by Bair to start the possession. Bair then connected with Aschen Fries for 11 yards. Alliance then got on the board when Bair scored from the 47 yard line. The PAT was no good and with 1:14 left in the half, the AMS deficit stood at 23 to 6. Scottsbluff countered with a 77 yard kick return to extend their advantage. The guests took a 31 to 6 margin to halftime.
Scottsbluff got the ball first in the third and were turned away. On the Dog’s first series, a nice run by Roy Torres pushed the ball into Scottsbluff territory. AMS eventually turned the ball over on downs and the period came to an end with SB still ahead by 25. Strong stops by Devlin and Quinton Scroth denied another Bluff score as the finale began. Bair then tallied his second score with a 36 yard TD march that made it 31 to 12. The period came to a conclusion with a 77 yard kick return by the visitors that made it 37 to 12 and a 51 yard TD run by Torres. Devlin added the PAT. Final Bluffs 37 AMS 20
SB 23 8 0 6 37
ALL 0 6 6 8 20
With the loss, the Bulldogs now have a 1 and 3 record.
In the second, the Dogs got the victory. After stopping the Bluffs on their first attempt, a 47 yard TD carry by Torres gave the Bulldogs a 6 to 0 cushion. Big tackles by Scroth, Xavier Aguilar, Ethan Crowell, and Emerson Trumbull would ruin a Cat comeback. The 2 quarter running clock contest came to an end with a pick by Alliance’s Travis Pfannenstiel-Kaiser.
AMS will travel to Gering on Tuesday and Mitchell on Saturday to end their season.