Game #5 for the Alliance football team took place in Imperial Friday in a matchup against the Longhorns. Alliance was outscored 30 to 0 in the second quarter and lost the game to Chase 49 to 0. With the loss, the Bulldogs now see their record stand at 1 and 4 for the year. A couple of defensive scores by the hosts in the second period proved to be too much to overcome.
Alliance’s defense was up for the task on the opening series. Imperial received the ball first and fumbled, giving the Dogs great field position. A hard hit by Alliance’s Jett Herian caused the mistake by the Horns and the ball was recovered by Bulldog Caysen Robertson. Starting at the 43, it was the host’s defense time to shine as Alliance would gain just a couple of yards before punting the ball away. A nice punt by Alliance kicker Devan Graham pinned the Horns down at the 12 yard line. Three big Chase County plays covering 50 yards advanced the ball to midfield. With 8:01 left in the opener, Chase County got on the scoreboard with a 40 yard touchdown. The PAT was good, putting the Horns up 7 to 0.
On the Bulldog’s next possession, Alliance found the going tough again as three plays netted just 8 yards. Imperial started their next series at the 39 and also went away without any points. Tip passes by Bulldogs Chano Montas and Herian denied any gains by the hosts and forced an Imperial punt. A bad snap by the hosts on the punt gave Alliance a great opportunity. Linebacker Cole Stoike hard hit on the punter put the ball down at the 42 line yard. The quarter ended with 2 short pass completions by Alliance quarterback Jay Shelmadine to running Trini Trejo and receiver Espen Lanik that got the Dogs close. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs and the period came to a close with Chase up 7 to 0.
Beginning on the 17, it was the Longhorn offense getting the momentum. Alliance would get nice defensive plays by Stoike, Robertson, and Herian, but a 55 yard touchdown pass by Chase helped the Horns increase their margin. With 10:45 showing on the clock, Alliance was down 13 to 0. Another nice pass to Lanik and power running from Robertson would then advance the ball to midfield on the Bulldog’s next series. The Dog drive then stalled and a miscue on the Alliance punt gave the Horns great field position. Beginning on the 42, it would take Imperial just one play to get again into the score column. A 42 yard touchdown run made the score 19 to 0 with 6:56 showing on the clock. Stoike would block the ensuing extra point keeping the Alliance deficit at 19. Things would gradually get worse for the Bulldogs in the final minutes of the half.
An Imperial sack that caused a Bulldog fumble was returned for another Longhorn touchdown. The play covered 25 yards and put Alliance down by 4 scores. A tackle by Montas denied the extra point and with 5:11 left in the half, the Dogs trailed 25 to 0. Lanik would have a nice return by Alliance on the following kick but after three plays, the Dogs were forced to punt. It would take just to 2 plays for the Horns to find the end zone. A 74 yard TD pass at the 3 minute mark increased the Horn advantage to 31 to 0. The half finished with positive yards by Trejo but a pick 6 by Imperial covering 66 yards made the halftime score 37 to 0.
A nice 30 yard kick return by Bulldog Coy Childers began action in the third. A pass then went to Graham and gained 17 yards on Alliance’s first series, but a couple of unsuccessful plays by the Dogs gave the ball back to Chase. Imperial then used a 6 play drive to increase their lead. A 9 yard TD run with 3:38 left in the period pushed the Longhorn lead to 43 to 0. Another long return by Childers helped the Bulldogs get close as the period came to a close. The quarter ended with another Bulldog punt and the guests down by 43. Both defenses would force punts of the following series and the ball game came to a conclusion with another Horn score. The play went 4 yards, Final Alliance 0 Imperial 49
ALL 0 0 0 0 0
CC 7 30 6 6 49
Final stats had the Bulldogs rushing the ball 38 times for 101 yards Trejo led Alliance with 60 yards on 27 attempts while Robertson added 37 yards Shelmadine completed 8 passes for 64 yards with Lanik grabbing 3 for 30 yards.
Alliance will host Lexington on Friday.