Win over Akron leaves Bulldogs on top in League and State standings

Week one of league action and the Haxtun Bulldogs emerge victorious from a Friday night contest with the Akron Rams to remain on top in the Lower Platte League and in State standings. Haxtun picked up a 48-14 win against the Rams to improve to 5-0 and remain one of six undefeated 8-man teams in Colorado.

The Bulldogs dominated the entire first half of the game, controlling both sides of the ball. The quarterback Ryland Wolff and running back Michael Gerk duo put 20 points on the board in the first quarter. Gerk punched in two rushing touchdowns equaling 25 yards while Wolff found a gap for a 51-yard run. Their efforts come from the strong arm of the Bulldog’s offensive line, despite losing starters Maclin Tempel and Grant Statz to injury. The Wolff-Gerk pair added two more touchdowns before the end of the first half; Wolff with a 23-yard touchdown run and Gerk with a six-yard run to put Haxtun on top 34-0 at half time.

One lone touchdown in the third quarter came early from the legs of Gerk, who ran in a 32-yard touchdown to give Haxtun a 40-point advantage and force a running clock for the remainder of the game. Akron managed a four-yard touchdown just seconds into the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs quickly answered back with a Kailin Kelley rushing TD to put 48 points on the board for Haxtun. With less than two minutes left, the Rams added a second touchdown but the Bulldogs were too much to handle ultimately taking the 34-point win.

Haxtun completed 41 plays including eight first downs. On defense, they held Akron to 38 plays and eight first downs and only 218 offensive yards. Haxtun registered 503 yards on the ground and 48 yards in the air for a total of 551 offensive yards.

Wolff connected with one pass for 32-yards and one touchdown in the quarterback position. He also registered 181 yards on the ground from 10 carries and two rushing touchdowns. Gerk trailed right behind with 165 yards from 12 carries and three touchdowns. Kelley carried the ball eight times for 112 yards and one TD.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs racked up 76 total tackles; 41 more than their opponent. Kelley led the charge with 15 tackles, seven solo and eight assisted. Gerk and Keegan Colglazier both registered 10 total tackles followed by Wolff and Mason Bornhoft with eight and Kaiden Schelling with seven.

This week the Bulldog team is set to travel to take on the Buffs at Caliche High School. Game time is 7:30 p.m. According to MaxPreps, the Buffs are currently 4-1, just recently suffering a loss a loss to the now 2-3 Sedgwick County Cougars.

After the Caliche contest, Haxtun will have Dayspring Christian Academy, Sedgwick County and Merino left on the regular schedule before playoffs begin.