Undefeated Chadron came to town Friday night for a football battle with the Bulldogs. The guests put 30 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter and cruised to a 54 to 12 victory over the Dogs. With the win, the Cards improve to 7 and 0 for the season while Alliance drops to 1 and 6. Chadron running back Quinn Bailey continued his fine year for the Cardinals by founding the end zone 5 times plus tacking on 2 good extra points for the visitors. Overall, Bailey ended his night with 227 yards on 20 attempts. Scoring for the Dogs were Jori Matukla who found the end zone on a 45 yard pass from quarterback Jay Shelmadine and Caysen Robertson who scored on a 1 yard run.
Beginning on the 35,Chadron rode the shoulders of Bailey on the game’s opening drive. Six straight carries by the senior back resulted for early points by the Cards. At the 10 minute mark, Chadron scored their first tally on a one yard TD run. The extra point was good and the Cardinals surged ahead 8 to 0. Things would continue to go the Chadron way on the Bulldog’s first try. Alliance would go three and out and a miscue on the Dog’s punt resulted in a safety which put AHS down 10 to 0 and gave the possession right back to the guests. A 15 yard TD run by Bailey followed and with 7 minutes showing on the clock, the Cardinals led 16 to 0. More trouble then came for the Dogs as an Alliance fumble on the next series gave the possession back to the visitors. Starting at the 39, the Cards went back to their strong running game. Chadron added to their margin with another score by Bailey from the three which increased their advantage to 22 to 0 with 3:08 remaining in the opening period. The quarter would come to a close with an Alliance punt and another tally by the Cardinals. After one, Alliance trailed 30 to 0.
An interception by the the guests started play in period #2. Chadron used the great field position to add to their lead. A 2 yard td run with 10:46 on the clock increased the Card lead to 37 to 0. At the 6 minute mark, the Cardinals scored again on a 24 yard field goal that put the visitors up 40 to 0. Three minutes later following another punt by the Bulldogs, the Cards scored their sixth tally of the half on 5 yard td that put the score at 47 to 0. The Alliance offense would answered back on their final drive of the half. A big run by Bulldog back Trini Trejo would get the ball pass midfield. From there, Shelmadine hooked up with Matulka on a short pass which the Bulldog end took down the sideline for Alliance’s first score. The play went 45 yards and with 2:39 left in the second period AHS trailed 47 to 6. Chadron would have one more possession but failed to score. At half, the Dogs were down 47 to 6.
A running clock was used throughout the second half which gave both teams only a couple of series. Alliance got the ball first and had to punt. On Bailey’s final carry of the night, the speedy senior raced 61 yards for his fifth touchdown. The extra point was good and with 7:29 showing on the clock the Card lead stood at 54 to 6. Both teams would have one more series in the period with no scores. Heading to quarter 4, Alliance was down 54 to 6.
Midway through the final stanza, the Bulldogs put together their best drive. A big run by Trejo was followed by a pass from Shelmadine to Espen Lanik that went 36 yards that got the Dogs inside the Cardinal 10 yard line. On fourth and goal on the one, it was Robertson culminated the drive by scoring the Bulldog’s second tally. The pat was no good. Chadron would then run out the final 3 minutes and go on for the 54 to 12 victory.
CHAD 30 17 7 0 54
ALL 0 6 0 6 12
Alliance rushed the ball 24 times for 87 yards with Trejo the top rusher with 71 yards on 18 attempts. Shelmadine completed 11 pass for 112 yards and one score. Lanik caught 9 passes for 66 yards.
Alliance goes to Sidney on Friday.