Bullldogs Lose Barn Burner to West Central

The Milbank Bulldogs took on the West Central Trojans on Friday, September 10, at A.B. Campbell Stadium in Milbank. The Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 32-33, but it took them double overtime to do it.

Marshall Voeltz got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first with a two-yard run into the endzone. Bennett Schwenn followed it with a kick between the posts to give Milbank an early lead at 7-0.  Gavin Koch, quarterback for the Trojans, completed a pass to Jacob Krempges for six points, but the extra point attempt failed. Milbank held the lead at 7-6. 

In the second quarter, Voeltz scored again for the Dawgs on a five-yard run, but the extra point attempt was no good, but the Bulldogs were ahead at 13-6.  Krause then connected with Bennett Schwenn for a 26-yard touchdown pass.  Schwenn punctuated it with a good kick and Milbank headed to the locker room with a 20-6 lead at halftime.

Milbank had a quieter third quarter, and West Central scored just once on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Koch to Braden Dierickx. West Central’s two-point conversion attempt failed and the Bulldogs led 20-12. 

The score remained 20-12 until midway in the fourth quarter when Koch found Dierickx again from 20 yards to score. The Trojans ran the two-point conversion into the endzone to tie things up at 20-20.  
Dierickx then scored again — this time with a 65-yard touchdown punt return — to give the Trojans the lead at 20- 26.  But, a tough Bulldogs defense thwarted their plan for another two points.  
With just 4:23 left to go in the game and Milbank now behind at 20-26,  Schwenn scored on a 26-yard pass from Krause. The extra point was blocked, and things were back to being all tied up. This time at 26-26.  At the end of regulation, the score still sat at 26-26 to send the game into overtime.

Neither team scored in the first overtime.  In the second overtime, the Trojans had the ball first and scored on a fourth down when Koch completed a pass to Dierickx from the five-yard line for his third touchdown of the game. The extra point was good to give West Central a 26-33 lead.  

The Bulldogs were not finished, though.  Krause found Carter Bowsher on a 24-yard pass to give the Bulldogs six more points and a chance to claim the victory. 

With the score at 32-33, Milbank went for the win with a two-point conversion attempt, but the pass was incomplete at the goal line. The Trojans squeaked out the win at 32-33.  

Milbank finished with a total of 288 yards — 159 passing and 129 rushing.  West Central had 289 total yards — 216 passing and 73 rushing.
Schwenn and Voeltz were the leading rushers for the Bulldogs with 53 and 52 yards respectively. Krause added 38. 
Schwenn was also the leading receiver with 110 yards to his credit. Bowsher contributed 34 and Voeltz had 15.

For the defense, Voeltz led with 10 tackles and three assists. Schwenn had five, Maddox Hanson had four, Karson Weber and Jace Rufer took down three apiece, and junior Eli Johnson had two.
Milbank had zero turnovers. West Central made three. The Trojans lost a  fumble and threw two interceptions. Krause and Connor Bender each snagged the ball for the Bulldogs. 

Milbank was charged with eight penalties for a total of 69 yards and the Trojans had three for 20 yards. The Bulldogs season record now sits at 1-2.
The Bulldogs go back on the road this Friday, September 17, when they travel to Madison (3-0). Kick off is at 7 p.m.