Game three on the season for the Alliance Bulldogs had a home match up with Holdrege. A big first half by AHS was all the Dogs needed in downing the Dusters 24 to 7. With the victory, Alliance goes to 2 and 1 for the year. Three first half touchdown combined with another strong performance by the Dog defense were the keys in the victory. AHS was up 24 to 0 at half before a Holdrege TD in the third got the guests to within 17. The fourth period was a defensive battle with both teams going scoreless.
Holdrege got the ball first and the Dusters race into trouble as Alliance got a super defensives plays by Ethan Schulze and Caysen Robertson that denied the guests a first down. Starting on the 41, the Alliance O went to work. A 37 yard swing pass to running back Trini Trejo from quarterback Jackson Shelmadine got the Dogs on the board. The PAT was good on a pass from Braeden Clarke to Smiley Valdovinos. With 8:27 showing on the clock, the Dogs were up 8 to 0. Both team’s defenses were stout for the rest of the quarter. Alliance got nice tackles by Jackson Devlin, Nason Thompson, and Lucas Weber to keep the guests from scoring. Trejo had a 38 yard run later in the period but AHS was turned away. After one period of play, the Dogs led 8 to 0.
Facing a fourth and long, Holdrege rolled the dice in the opening minutes of the second. A fake punt was stopped and the Bulldogs took over inside the the 40. A pass from Shelmadine to Wyatt Stabnow got the Bulldogs close. The drive ended with a 3 yard TD pass from Shelmadine to Clarke. Shelmadine ran in the PAT and with 7:41 remaining in the half, the Dogs were ahead 16 to 0. On the next possession by the Dusters, a fumble recovered by Robertson set up the host’s next tally. Shelmadine connected with Jadon Guerra for an 8 yard score as the Dog increase their margin. Trejo ran in the extra point and with 11:28 left in the half, AHS enjoy a 24 to 0 lead. The rest of the half had a missed field goal by the Dusters as AHS kept their shutout alive. Heading to half, the Bulldogs were up 24 to 0.
Both club’s defense dominated the action in the third. Alliance had the ball first and were forced to punt. At the 8:43 mark, HHS got into the scoring column on 72 yard TD pass. The extra point kick was good as the Duster deficit was sliced to 24 to 7. Alliance was turned away on the next series but an interception by Clarke got the ball right back to the Dogs. The Holdrege D was up for the challenge as AHS was stopped on fourth down. Clarke would then continue his big night with another pick. The quarter closed with AHS ahead by 17.
Period #4 was scoreless one for both teams. A stop on a fourth down play by Thompson denied a Holdrege comeback. On the Duster’s next series, Alliance got super tackles by Colton Johnson and Schulze to keep the guests off the board. Meanwhile, Alliance got good gains by Trejo to run time off the clock. The contest came to a conclusion with AHS holding on to the lead thanks to plays by Weber on D and Trejo on O.
Final Alliance 24 Holdrege 7
Dusters 0 0 7 0 7
Bulldogs 8 16 0 0 24
Stats rushing Trejo 24 carries 149 yards Robertson 8 carries 21 yards passing Shelmadine completes 10 passes for 105 yards 3 TDs
Alliance goes to Gering on Friday.