On Saturday, the curtain came down on a very successful year for the Alliance middle school 7th grade football team. The Dogs downed Mitchell 38 to 0 in action played at Alliance’s Bulldog stadium. With the victory, AMS concluded its season with a 4 and 2 record. Alliance used a strong defensive effort plus big plays offensively from Dixon Bair, Roy Torres, Enzo Kappius, and Jace Jensen in getting the W. The Bulldogs scored twice in the first period and 2 more times in the second to take a 30 to 0 lead at halftime.
A hard hit by Kappius from his defensive end position caused a Tiger fumble on Mitchell’s first series and gave Alliance the ball at midfield. The mistake by the Tigers was recovered by Bulldog Grant Bloyd. On Alliance’s second play, the Dogs got on the scoreboard on a reverse play to Bair that went the distance. The play covered 59 yards and with 7 minutes left in the period, Alliance surged ahead. Jensen then hit Bair for a successful extra point that pushed the Dog advantage to 8 to 0. Bloyd and Jensen then made big plays on the defensive side on the Tiger’s next drive. Mitchell was turned away with back to back stops by the Bulldog duo. Kappius then found the end zone on the Alliance’s first play after the turnover on downs. The running play went 53 yards as the Dog’s increased their lead. AMS then had a good point after with Jensen connecting with Torres that put the lead at 16 to 0. The first then closed with strong tackles on defense by Bulldog Tatum Devlin, Quinn Ferguson, and Bloyd that stopped the Tiger’s next drive. After one period of play, AMS was up 16 to 0.
Big gains by Jensen began the action in the second. A Jensen carry on fourth down went 20 yards as the Dogs moved into scoring position. At the 6:47 mark of quarter #2. Jensen scored from the 1 yard line. The extra point was good on a Jensen pass to Bair that made the score 24 to 0. Alliance’s special team then made the game’s next big play. On the following kick, the ball was recovered by Bulldog Aschen Fries giving Alliance the possession on the 40 yard line. Big gainers then followed by Torres and Bair. From the 5 yard line, Alliance scored again on a good pass by Jensen to Fries. With 4:47 left in the half, the Bulldog lead stood at 30 to 0. The half came to an end with both teams failing to score. After 2 periods of action, AMS led 30 to 0.
It would take the Bulldogs just a few plays to increase their margin. A 62 yard pass from Jensen to Bair at the 7:39 mark would account for the Bulldog fifth score. Torres tacked on the point after, making the score 38 to 0 in favor on Alliance. With the clock running, the rest of the quarter would go quick. Mitchell found no success on their first drive with a tackle for a loss recorded by Torres and an interception by Devlin. The period concluded with both teams failing to score. Heading to the fourth, Alliance was up 38 to 0.
A nice tackle by Bulldog Xavier Aguilar begin play in the fourth. It was followed by a tackle for a loss by Alliance’s Mason Conyers as the Dogs preserved the shutout. Alliance would get the ball on the turnover on downs but could not muster any more points. Final AMS 38 Mitchell 0
MITCH 0 0 0 0 0
AMS 16 14 8 0 38