GUNNISON—The Bulldogs’ second straight loss last week proved an eternal truth in football: A few plays can change everything.
The Gunnison Valley football team fell in a hard-fought contest to Parowan, 32-20, last Friday in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 2-2 on the season and started them off 0-1 in the 1A South region.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs not only looked good aesthetically, sporting a new uniform combo of sky blue jerseys on top of royal blue pants, but also looked solid on the field for the most part.
Senior quarterback Jack Hansen struggled to be efficient, completing 6 passes on 18 attempts with an interception. Besides that, the run game of the Bulldogs was aflame as the team combined for 257 rushing yards on 37 carries.
“Parowan’s a really good team. I think we played hard and we played well, and we did have opportunities.”
Bulldog Head Coach Patrick King
On defense, the Bulldogs were solid, but they couldn’t keep a couple of the Rams’ enormous senior running backs down as Parowan totaled 279 rushing yards.
“They deserve a lot of credit,” King said. “You’re talking 200-pound running backs; guys that have had 1000-yard rushing seasons before. We do need to improve at tackling, you want to tackle solo, but game tackling is a skill that we’re still improving at.”
Senior running back Dylan Anderson was back in full swing for the Bulldogs, carrying the ball 14 times for 105 yards. Anderson scored a 66-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Gunnison a 14-7 lead after a forced fumble by the defense.
Later in the second quarter after Parowan tied the game at 14 apiece, the Rams took advantage of a miscue by the Bulldogs as Hansen fumbled a handoff to Anderson, which Parowan picked up on defense and took 56 yards back for the defensive score.
The Rams went up two scores in the early part of the fourth, 26-14.
Hansen took control late in the game for Gunnison as he joined in on the rushing attack. Gunnison got all the way down to the goal line and scored with Hansen on a quarterback sneak.
Responding to the pressure, the Rams scored again to keep themselves two scores away. On Gunnison’s last drive, Hansen lofted a pass over the middle of the defense, but overthrew the receiver, putting it in the hands of the overhead safety for the game-sealing interception.
“I think this was an emotional game for sure,” King said. “The boys played really tough and came up short in the end. I think we’re showing that we’ve continued to close the gap between us and the other teams.”
The Bulldogs will be on the road to take on Kanab this Friday.