Bulldogs head for Wilbur after Rosalia win

Colfax football players will again venture into new found territory Friday when they travel to Wilbur to play the Wilbur/Creston Wildcats, one of the three newcomers in the NE 2B league this season.

The Bulldogs will take a 2-0 league record to Wilbur after defeating the new Tekoa/Rosalia Timberwolves Friday at another new site for the Bulldogs, Rosalia’s grid on the hill next to the Steptoe Monument.

Colfax took the all-county league matchup Friday with a 48-19 win after leading 41-7 at the half.

The WC Wildcats will host with a 1-1 league mark after sustaining 13-26 loss to Davenport in the second league round Friday.

The Wildcats are coached by Darin Reppe, who at one time coached Sprague/Harrington teams that cut a wide swath in the eight-man division.

Colfax Coach Mike Morgan rates the Wildcats as one of the stealth contenders in the league during their first year. He notes the Wildcats have posted a solid grid record in the 1B ranks and can be expected to have little difficulty transposing that success to the 11-man format of the NE league.

The key scouting factor for Friday’s hosts appears to be their discipline. They like to use a split back offense with option and counter plays.

Colfax hopes to have most of their starters back for the trip to Wilbur. Last Friday at Rosalia the Bulldogs had six players who had a big part in their first game out of action with injuries. The coaches expect four or five of those players will be back this Friday.

Again last week, Colfax booked a slow start, ignited on offense and stiffened on defense for the 48-19 win over the Timberwolves who were making their home debut.

The host club hit the first score of the game when speed back Cody Thornton broke loose along the home sideline and rambled 72 yards for a 7-0 lead. A 5-9 junior, Thornton demonstrated explosive speed all night against the Bulldogs.

Morgan also credited Alec Pakootas, TR’s sophomore quarterback, with doing a solid job of leading the younger Timberwolves team.

Down 0-7 Friday, Colfax hit their first TD with Dylan Hall running back the TR punt. A run for a two point conversion put Colfax in the lead 8-7 with 3:07 left in the first quarter.

The lead went to 16-7 for the first quarter when the Bulldogs stopped TR on the next possession and then blocked the Wolves’ punt. Cody Gronning scored the TD on a 22-yard pass play from QB Mark Webber. A two-point conversion finished the half.

The Bulldogs rolled up 25 points in the second quarter. It went to 22-7 after Hall booked another strong punt return and Fulfs followed a 23-yard TD run.

Coach Morgan said Hall and Fulfs together combined for 120 yards rushing in the first half with Fulfs gaining 70 of them.

Colfax scored three more times in the half with Gronning scoring on a short run, Bo Claassen tagging down a 30-yard TD pass on the base line, and Webber scoring on a keeper.

Coach Morgan noted Webber had a strong night executing the option play.

“He was able to read the defense and decide when to pitch it or not pitch it,” Morgan said.

Both teams called out the reserves, and Thornton booked two more escapes for the hosts for scores on runs of 84 and 28 yards. His total yards on TD plays were at 184 for the night.

Colfax sophomore Dillon Meserve scored the last TD for the Bulldogs.

The Timberwolves will be back on their home grid next week when they host Lind/Ritzville/Sprague, the defending state champs. The Broncos Friday advanced their record to 2-0 with a 51-6 win over Springdale.

In other league action, Reardan advanced to 2-0 with a 20-0 shutout over Liberty, and Northwest Christian moved to 2-0 with a 41-13 won over Kettle Falls.