Skip to content

BULLDOGS VARSITY FOOTBALL: Up for grabs — Norwayne wins 21-7; Dalton plays first postseason game Oct. 16

PHOTOS BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography
Dalton’s Dillon Horst goes for a tackle against Norwayne’s Hayden Tanner on Friday.

Dalton sophomore quarterback Ethan Stutz looks downfield for a receiver during Friday’s game against Norwayne. 

Dalton senior Adam Jarrett 

Dalton’s Adam Knetzer jumps on a Norwayne fumble.

 

DGKN staff report

Dalton High School’s varsity football team will begin postseason play on Oct. 16, after a week off and shortened regular season that ended with a 4-2 overall record and third place in the Wayne County Athletic League.

The Bulldogs’ regular-season finale was a disappointing 21-7 loss to conference rivals the Norwayne Bobcats on Friday at Creston.

The Bulldogs’ only other loss in the six-game season came against the Northwestern Huskies in week 4.

Against Norwayne on Friday night, the Bulldogs struck first, with a perfect drive culminating in an 11-yard rush to the endzone by junior Jaiden Malone to make the score 7-0 Dalton with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.

A few plays after the punt, Dalton was in Bobcats territory again after Adam Knetzer recovered a fumble to end the first quarter, but the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize.

Norwayne tied the game with just over eight minutes left in the first half on a 49-yard touchdown run by Ameer Cunningham, who scored all three Bobcat TDs – one at about the six-minute mark of the third quarter and one with just under 10 minutes left to play in the fourth.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs turned the ball over deep in the Bobcat redzone, failing to convert on fourth down at the three-yard line.

At quarterback, Dalton sophomore Ethan Stutz completed seven of 14 pass attempts for 74 yards. Tate Geiser was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher, carrying the ball for 55 yards on 12 plays.

With the win, Norwayne finished its regular season undefeated at 6-0 to claim outright the WCAL title.

Going into the playoffs, fourth-seeded Dalton’s first opponent will be the winner of a first-round matchup between Plymouth and Lisbon David Anderson.

Leave a Comment