Horsemen lose to Bulldogs
With a 59-22 loss on Senior Night to Mission (2-2 conf., 4-2 ovr.), the Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen (1-4, 1-6) have been eliminated from District 7-B post-season contention.
“They just beat us at the line of scrimmage,” Savage Horsemen head coach Jim Lawson said. “They just have a punishing running game, really good running backs.”
“I don’t think they punted the whole game so it’s tough to win games that way,” Lawson said.
With their two-headed running game the Bulldogs not only chewed up the clock, but kept the Savage Horsemen offense harmlessly on the sidelines.
At Hot Springs homecoming game, Austin Durglo and Lane Wheeler combined for 474 yards rushing yards and six touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a victory on the road.
Durglo racked up 261 yards on 16 carries as Wheeler had 213 of his own on 17 rushes. The pair scored three touchdowns each.
In the first quarter, it was all Mission as Scotty Gilleard, Durglo and Wheeler all rushed for scores.
Wheeler scored again from 27-yards out, before Tanner Ostrum would put Plain-Hot Springs on the board after catching a 27-yard touchdown pass from Carson Lilja. The Bulldogs would score once before before the half, as Dylan Evans 4-yard rushing touchdown made it 34-7 at the intermission.
In the third, Lilja found Ostrum again for a 19-yard score, and Durglo crossed the goal-line three more times. First, on a three-yard touchdown run, then on a 29-yard gallop, and again an a 21-yard interception return.
Things finally slowed down in the fourth quarter as each team scored only once. Wheeler put Mission on the board for the last time after a 33-yard run, and Mike Grey found the end-zone for Lilja’s third touchdown pass.
Ostrom had six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Savage Horsemen.
Seniors Wade Bache, Nick Warren, Colton Berg, Cole Goodwin, Cody Hoff, Lilja, Firestone, Brass, and Giorgi Malakmadze all played in their final home game.
“It’s hard to see them go when you’ve been with them every year,” Lawson said. “I’m going to miss the passion that they bring to the game.”
Adding injury to insult, Plains-Hot Springs suffered two more blows to their already compromised backfield as senior runningbacks Trevor Brass and Tanner Firestone both left the game due to injury.
Brass will be done for the season with a broken leg, and Taylor Firestone gave everyone in attendance a scare as he was escorted off the field in an ambulance.
“It was a little scary. It was one of those things where they immobilized his neck, so he couldn’t move and everything,” Lawson said. “It all checked out ok, but he’s got a really sore neck. I don’t really know what his status will be [versus Cascade] on Wednesday.”
The short-handed Savage-Horsemen will go on the road to face Cascade at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, but just who will line up in the backfield is still a mystery.
Lawson plans to use a running back-by-committee approach to fill the void left by Firestone, Brass, and Hoff, who’s only carried the ball once in the last three games due to a lingering calf-injury. Mike Gray, James Rulison, and Kolby Chisolm will all likely see time at tail-back. Wide receiver Ostrum might even get a carry or two.
“A lot depends on tomorrows practice. On how everone’s injuries are and who I’m going to have,” Lawson explained. “Tanner [Ostrum] has been playing so well at receiver so we’re going to have to throw the ball at him too, but some teams if they realize we don’t run the ball well and they see that we’re throwing the ball to him they’ll try to double team him. If they double team him, then I’ll try to get him the ball a different way.”
No matter who lines up at half-back, the Savage-Horsemen will need to establish a running game if they want to break into the win column against Cascade.