Scotties Lose Lead Late, Drop Thriller to Dawson County

The bone-chilling wind may have forced the Scottie faithful into thick sweatshirts and under heavy blankets earlier in the season than they'd anticipated but on the turf itself, their red and white-clad warriors' hearts burned fiery-hot, an intensity they maintained for the entirety of Friday night's 20-15 loss versus the Dawson County Red Devils.

The visitors counted a collection of giants among their ranks - 6'8", 240 lb senior lineman Jarod Asche and 6'7", 195 lb senior WR/DB Bret Vester, to name two. Their appearance, however, proved incongruous to their coherence as a unit. 

Dawson received the opening kick, and opened the game with a bullying 9-yard run; they worked the pigskin to the sidelines, employing backfield motion and keeping Glasgow on its toes as they advanced the ball to near-midfield. But penalties, errant throws from senior QB Carsen Oakland, and brave defensive plays, none more so than junior Kasey Seyfert's shoestring tackle for a loss, clouded Dawson's offensive attack.

"We had some big plays," said Scotties head coach Greg Liebelt. "I'm proud of how we competed."

A 29-yard punt - impressive, given the 30 mph wind blowing in the kicker's face - set the Scotties at their own 30 to begin their opening drive.

If the Dawson QB's early aerial struggles were not evidence enough that the game would go to the team which marshaled a concise, powerful ground war, Benji Phillips' 66-yard touchdown run, on which the 6', 187 lb junior may have broken the NFL Combine's 40-time, thanks to the tailwind, solidified the notion. Dawson blocked the PAT, and the Scotties led, 6-0.

"Benji had a great game on both sides of the ball," said Liebelt.

On the next drive, Glasgow held Dawson on 4th and 2 from the Scottie 47, but a Trent Herbert interception soon gifted the ball back to the Red Devils. The visitors muscled their way down to the Scottie 8, converting a 4th and 6 try from the 14 to set up first and goal to start quarter two.

Two successive holding penalties forced Dawson back to the 26; an incompletion on 4th and goal from the 13 shifted possession to the Scotties.

Both teams struggled to press forward into the wind. All the first half scoring occurred in the west end zone, closest to town and with the gale at the offense's back.

"To be successful we need to be able to throw the ball in order to keep the defense loose enough to run on," said Liebelt. "[Friday night], it was difficult to execute that gameplan because of the conditions -- it made it more challenging to run the ball because our opponents didn't have to respect the pass."

With 7:30 remaining in the half, Dawson broke the plane for the first time, taking the lead on the ensuing extra point. After the Scotties' next drive sputtered and died, the Red Devils retook possession and attempted to break the game open on its head with a long pass-made-longer with weather's aid. But Lane Nickels intercepted, and Glasgow took over at its own 20 with three minutes to go until the break. A three and out, capped by an 11-yard punt, gave the visitors the ball at the Scottie 25. Two plays later, the visitors increased their advantage to 14-6.

Glasgow, still facing the wind, was content to run out the final minute of the quarter and jog to the locker room trailing by eight.

The second half brought much of the same wind-related hijinks as half one. With the scoreline lying dormant at 14-6, Dawson took possession deep inside its own territory. Oakland muffed a snap, the ball rolled into the end zone, and though the Red Devils recovered, Scotties defenders swarmed and pounced, forcing a safety. 14-8.

The fourth quarter pitted the home squad against the ever-fiercening gale, needing to somehow battle weather's invisible beast to have any chance at victory. 

What they had failed to do in the second quarter, they succeeded in doing on the subsequent go-round - with ten minutes remaining, the crowd roared and car horns honked from the hill as the home team trampled into the end zone. Younkin's PAT gave his squad a 15-14 lead over its Class A foes.

The night seemed to fall further into place for the Scotties after a forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff left them 36 yards from an eight-point lead. But the team was marooned; unable to advance the ball, Glasgow exhausted its downs and gave possession back to Dawson. The clock waned closer to triple-zero as the teams traded punts. The field position battle tilted in the Red Devils' favor with each drive - would the war of attrition conclude before the visitors could produce a final rebuttal?

Glasgow fought, but Dawson's steady rushing attack guided them further and further upfield. With 2:16 remaining, the breakthrough came. The PAT missed, but the damage was done; Dawson County led, 20-15.

The Scotties began their final drive knowing that with no timeouts, it was touchdown or death-by-kneel. On 3rd and 4, Herbert lobbed a pass towards the home sideline; it hung in the air like a toothpick in a tornado before falling incomplete, just out of reach of a rabid defensive back. On 4th and 4, Herbert atoned, slicing 14 yards to the 49. First down, 35 seconds left.

"Herbet showed significant improvement from last week," said Liebelt. "[He] kept a lot of drives going."

A spike halted the clock. On second down, Dawson sacked Herbert. Another spike. Fourth and 12 from the 47. Herbert lobbed another pass skyward. This time, the Red Devils made no mistake, intercepting it and running it to the Scotties' 20 as the final horn drew curtains on the night.

"We had a good chance to win it late," said Liebelt.

Though both sides toiled, Dawson boarded the team bus having reaped the accolades which eluded the Scotties for a second week running.

"There were some good plays made, Liebelt said. "There were also some big mistakes. We need to keep working to find success."

Glasgow travels to Baker Friday, Sept. 11 in search of its first win. Liebelt believes Baker's offense will be similar to Dawson County's, though stronger at quarterback: "they've got a big guy who can move really well," the coach said. "Kind of like a Benji Phillips-type. We'll keep getting better on both sides of the ball, and take it from there."