Friday’s nights football matchup between Alliance and Lexington came down to just a couple of plays in determining a winner. And when the dust settled it was the visitors from Lex getting the win. The Minutemen used a huge fake punt in the fourth quarter and a couple of big touchdown runs in defeating the Bulldogs 34 to 18 in a battle at Alliance’s Bulldog stadium. With the loss, Alliance drops to 1 and 5 for the year. Sophomore running back Trini Trejo led the Dogs on offense with 2 touchdowns.
Lexington got the ball first and went immediately to their run game. The Minutemen had a 10-play drive that advanced the ball into Alliance territory. A tackle for a loss by Bulldog Cole Stoike slowed the Lex drive and pass knocked down by Alliance’s Espen Lanik eventually ended the series with Alliance getting the ball on the 32. The Dogs would go three and out and the period closed with no scores.
In quarter #2, the guests again went to their ground game and found success. Lex took 14 plays and would score on a one yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and with 11:20 showing on the clock, the Minutemen were up 7 to 0. Starting on the 27, it was the Alliance offense time to shine. Big runs by Trejo and EJ Garcia moved the ball to midfield. A 10-yard run by quarterback Jay Shelmadine would continue the drive and a 23-yard pass play to Lanik got the Dogs close. At 7:44 in the half, the Bulldogs would get on the board with a 5-yard td run by Trejo. The point after was no good. A couple of Alliance penalties then aided the guests of their following series. Lex went to the air then and completed a big 41-yard pass then placed the ball inside the Bulldog 10. The possession ended with a 5-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldog deficit at 14 to 6 with 4:31 left in the half. Following an Alliance three and out, Lex got the ball and again found success. The Minutemen would score on a 41-yard touchdown run and the half closed with Alliance down 21 to 6.
Alliance got the ball to begin play in the third and quickly had to punt. Lex would drive deep into Bulldog territory before a fumble close to the ground line denied another score. Starting at the 3, Alliance put together maybe their best series on the season. Big runs by Trejo plus a Lex penalty got the ball to midfield. A pass to Trejo covering 22 yards was then followed by a good gain by Alliance’s Caysen Robertson as the Dogs got close. The 97 yard drive concluded with Robertson scoring from the 8. With 2:12 showing on the clock, the Bulldogs trailed 21 to 12. The rest of the quarter had Lexington getting the ball and gaining some yards. Heading to the fourth, Lex led 21 to 12.
Facing a fourth and four from the 40, the guests went for it and were stopped, giving the Bulldogs great field position. A 27-yard scamper by Robertson followed and two big runs by Trejo got the Dogs close. At 9:23 mark, the Dogs pulled within 3 as Trejo scored from the 9 yard line. The play of the game then ensued. Lexington had a fourth and 10 on the 35 and decided to use a fake punt. The play netted just enough for the visitors to keep the ball. Lexington then increased their lead on a 43-yard td run. The extra point was no good and with 5:56 remaining in the contest, the Bulldogs trailed 27 to 18. Down 9, Alliance rolled the dice and came up empty. The Bulldogs went for it on fourth and 8 and were turned away, giving Lex great field position. On the ensuing play. Lexington put the game away by scoring on a 33-yard touchdown run. A successful point after kick made the score 34 to 18 with 4 minutes left in the contest. The ball game ended with Alliance having the ball twice with no scores. Final Lex 34 Alliance 18
LEX 0 21 0 13 34
ALL 0 6 6 6 18
Rushing Alliance 41 rushes 191 yards Trejo 31 attempts 135 yards 2 tds Robertson 4 carries 44 yards 1 td Passing Shelmadine completed 10 passes for 76 yards Receiving Lanik 5 catches for 47 yards.
Chadron comes to town on Friday