Bulldogs defeat Horsemen in season opener

by Ed Moreth

The Plains Horsemen hadn't won a football game in two years. It looked like that might change at Friday night's game with a tie score for most of the first half and the Horsemen holding their own, but in the end, the Mission Bulldogs pulled off a 34-6 victory in the first contest of the season.

The Plains boys would have had two touchdowns in the second quarter and taken the lead, but a flag for an illegal block nullified one touchdown. A touchdown pass in the second quarter was also voided because of a Horseman penalty. "Some untimely penalties really hurt our momentum and ability to put pressure on Mission, who took second in state last year," said Mike Tatum, who took over as head coach this year.

With two minutes left in the first half, the Bulldogs threw a touchdown pass to take a 12-6 lead, followed by a successful two-point conversion pass for a 14-6 game. At the start of the third quarter, the Bulldogs nabbed a 55-yard pass for another touchdown, though their two-point conversion failed. And with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Bulldogs intercepted a pass and ran for another touchdown, though a flag against Mission brought the ball back to the 20-yard line. Plains senior Aden West intercepted a Bulldog pass and took it to midfield, though they couldn't take it into the end zone.

Quarterback Darren Standeford, a junior, totaled 76 passing yards, including a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior Aden West, who finished with 55 yards receiving, said Tatum. Tatum is no stranger to coaching. He helped coach high school football for a couple of years during his 19 years of coaching junior high. "We're hoping to get things going in a different direction. The players have put in a lot of work. A handful were in the weight room or going to camps throughout the summer," said Tatum, whose sons, Will, a senior, and Greg, a freshman, are on the Horsemen team.

Tatum added that Standeford also had 46 yards rushing. He said that Nick Hill, a senior, had a good all-around game with 23 yards rushing, 20 yards receiving and 30 yards in the return game.

Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs scored and with the two-point conversion had a 28-6 lead. With just over six minutes in the game, Mission scored again, though the Horsemen denied them the two-point conversion this time. Tatum said his boys kept up a good defensive pressure throughout most of the game. "Missions' effort came through again with some long passes that could have gone either way. They ended up converting them this time around," said Tatum. "We'll need to work on our passing defense for our next opponent, Superior. They like to throw the ball around. So, we'll have our hands full with them," he said. The Horsemen travel to Superior on Friday.

In the final minutes of the game, the Horsemen took the ball all the way to the three-yard line, but another penalty took the ball back to the 18-yard line, followed by Mission pushing it back another 10 yards before taking it over on downs to end the game 34-6.

"They always bring a tough and gritty football team that will give you their full effort every time," said Tatum. "I was really proud of our offensive line. They don't always get the recognition they deserve, but they really played a great game overall," he said. Tatum was assisted by coaches Batt Lulack, Scott Johnson and Rick Powers. "They just have to keep fighting. They're a resilient bunch of guys," said Lulack, whose son, Pepper, is an offensive and defensive lineman for the Horsemen.

West led the defense statistically with eight tackles, one sack and two interceptions totalling 60 return yards. Tatum said that senior Zeph Dines solidified a strong defensive effort with eight tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, followed by Anaya Loberg, a senior, with seven tackles, including two sacks.

"Overall, we coaches were really proud of the team's effort. Most of our mistakes and penalties were for trying too hard and should be showing us things we can clean up for down the road," said Tatum. "If we didn't make those self-inflicted mistakes, the game could have been much closer," he added. "That's not to take away from what Mission did, just one of those 'what could have been' situations that you can't get out of your mind as a coach," said Tatum, who also appreciated the fans that came out to support the team. "We really feed off of their energy and appreciate their support."

The Horsemen take on Park City at Deer Lodge on Friday, Sept. 8, followed by a home game against Troy on Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.