Upton-Sundance Patriots run roughshod on NCHS Tigers

Cory Griffith
Posted 9/20/17

The Upton-Sundance football co-op has blossomed since their inception in 2012.

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Upton-Sundance Patriots run roughshod on NCHS Tigers

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The Upton-Sundance football co-op has blossomed since their inception in 2012. They won the 1A state championship in 2015 and were unbeaten last year until Pine Bluffs upset them in the semi-finals. Many would contend that with their combined enrollment-they should be playing 2A- or split back up. Perhaps that is in the works as Sundance opened their beautiful new facility Croell Field on a damp Friday night against the Tigers.

Things looked bright early for NCHS as Damien Molzahn recovered a bobbled kick return on the Patriots 40 yard line. But the offense sputtered early and often against the physical Pats defense. Lusk gave the ball back a few plays later and Clayton Louderback capitalized for U-S with a three yard run. Jerrett Schloredt made his first of six point after kicks (in seven attempts) and the lead was 7-0. The home team added another touchdown as the period neared the end when Tanner Hofland scored from nine yards away.

All State tailback Dawson Butts kept the scoreboard moving for the Pats early in the second quarter with a 22 yard scamper and three minutes later Louderback connected with Jayden Caylor for a 69 yard touchdown pass. As everything unraveled for the Tigers, U-S added another score as Louderback hit Butts on a screen pass that turned into a 27 yard touchdown pass. Halftime couldn’t come soon enough as the Patriots led 35-0. Of the 31 plays the U-S offense ran, seven went for more than 20 yards. Big plays were killing the Tigers.

NCHS found a bit of running room in the second half, but another drive was wasted with a turnover. The Patriots upped the lead to 41-0 after Louderback scored from 17 yards away, and Schloredt finally missed a kick.

The Tigers finally got on the board midway through the fourth quarter as Drake Lamp scored on a three yard dive. His conversion stopped the bleeding but by this point Lusk was running on fumes. The Patriots scored once more as Caylor hit paydirt from five yards out. Schloredt finished the scoring in the 48-8 final score.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 0 0 0 8 8

U-S 14 21 6 7 48

TEAM STATS

NCHS: Passing- 1 comp/10 atts, 5 yds. Rushing- 67 atts/218 yds. 14 first downs. 3 fumbles/3 lost

U-S: Passing 4/11, 137 yds. Rushing- 33/275. 14 first downs. 2 fumbles/2 lost.

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Passing- Kyle Anderson 1/10, 5 yds. Rushing- James 19/74; Lamp 24/69, TD; Molzahn 14/61; Anderson 7/8; Gilkey 3/6. Receiving- Lamp 1 catch/5 yds. Defensive points- Gilkey 14, Lamp 14, Garrett Wurdeman 14, Cole Mellott 13, Molzahn 11, Traylin Bruegger 8, Stone 5, Anderson 4, Jake Heil 3, Teagan Tschacher 2, Ryan Bruegger 2, Jacob Miller 1.

Lusk’s return to the Wyopreps 1A top five was short-lived and have to regroup in a hurry as Big Horn visits Lusk Friday, for the first time since the 2002 state championship game. The top-ranked Rams lost a shocker to Pine Bluffs last week in Sheridan County but are a very dangerous team. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.