Bulldogs Roll Over Pheasants For Homecoming Victory

The Milbank Area Bulldogs rolled to a 35-3 victory over the Redfield-Doland Pheasants to wrap up Homecoming 2016. The Dawgs improve to 5-1 on the season with the victory.

“It’s always exciting to get a win on Homecoming,” stated Bulldog head coach Jeremy Tostenson. “I was proud of the way we came out and played with energy and effort. All phases of the game were well played.”

Milbank Area started the game with a defensive stop. Beginning on their own 28-yard line, the Bulldogs started their first offensive drive with Cole Dockter running around the left side for a first down. Quarterback Jonny Ash connected with Riley Wollschlager to move the ball to the 17-yard line. Jacob Karges pushed the ball forward to the five and Cole Dockter punched it into the end zone for the score. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, a penalty flag was thrown which brought Milbank Area back out to the 12. On the next play, Karges ran up the middle and over the goal line for a 12-yard TD run. Ash’s extra point kick hit the left upright but bounced through to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead midway through the opening period.

Milbank Area again forced another Pheasant punt to start the second quarter. Milbank Area got to work right away led by Karges who moved the chains twice. Facing a third down and long, Ash connected with Cody Dockter on a 44-yard TD pass. Ash’s kick was good giving the Dawgs the 14-0 advantage with 8:34 left in the first half.

The Bulldog defense quickly interrupted any plans made by the Pheasant offense when R. Wollschlager intercepted a pass near midfield. Karges quickly broke free for a run which ended within the red zone at the 15-yard line. A completed pass to Nate Bien moved Milbank Area to the nine and Cole Dockter again found paydirt for a 9-yard TD run. A successful extra point kick by Ash and Milbank Area extended their lead to 21-0.

Redfield-Doland was able to put together a short drive late in the second period, but was held short of the end zone. The Pheasants attempted a long field goal which was blocked by a solid Bulldog defense. Ethan Paysen picked up the ball and ran it to Milbank Area’s 43. With time running out and facing a third down and 10, Ash threw a long bomb to Riley Folk who broke a few tackles, but was eventually caught short of the goal line. Time expired leaving Milbank Area with the 21-0 halftime lead.

Milbank Area fumbled the ball early to start the second half and the Pheasants recovered. The Bulldogs quickly shut down the Redfield-Doland offense and forced a punt. On the next play, Cole Dockter again broke free but was pushed out of bounds at the 7-yard line. He immediately got the ball back on the next play and plunged over the goal line for the score. The extra point kick was good widening the Bulldog advantage to 28-0.
The Bulldogs did not let up. On their next offensive series, Ash threw a long pass to Bien who was brought down in the red zone at the 18. Ash connected with Matt Lenards on the next play for a touchdown, but a penalty flag brought the ball back out for Milbank Area. Lenards number was called again and Ash found him on another solid pass for the TD. The extra point kick went through the uprights giving Milbank Area the 35-0 lead in the third.

Midway through the final quarter, Redfield-Doland put together an offensive drive, but the Bulldogs stopped them from scoring a touchdown. The Pheasants kicked a successful field goal to move the score to 35-3 with just over five minutes left in the game. Substitutions were made by both teams to finish the contest.

Ash led the way for the Bulldogs with 221 yards passing, going 10-12, and two touchdowns. Cole Dockter led the ground attack for the Dawgs with 117 yards on 10 carries and two TDs. Karges followed with 89 yards rushing on 11 totes, one touchdown, and eight yards receiving on two catches. Cody Dockter caught three balls for 90 yards. Bien added 53 yards on two receptions. Also adding to the offensive statistics were Folk, one catch for 36 yards; Lenards, one reception for 20 yards; and R. Wollschlager, 14 yards on one catch.

On the defensive side, Zach Angerhofer led the Bulldogs with 7 tackles. Jake Anderson, Ben Nelson, and Koben Huber followed with four tackles apiece. Paysen, Folk, Taran Mogard, and Tanner Kettwig were credited with two tackles each while Derrick Aho, Cody Dockter, Alec Bien, Karges, R. Wollschlager, and Cole Dockter had one each.

Milbank Area wrapped up the victory with 423 total yards of offense. The Bulldogs had 221 yards passing and 202 yards rushing. Redfield-Doland ended the game with 61 yards of offense coming from 46 yards passing and 15 yards rushing.