Grind-em-up Gorillas top Bulldogs in 4th quarter

Matthew Neu of the Bulldogs gets past Davenport's Mathew Orvis and gets a read on a lead block for his next move. Christopher Jones is behind Neu.

A great game on offense, but not so much on defense, was the way Colfax Coach Mike Morgan described Friday’s Colfax loss on the Gorillas’ turf at Davenport Friday night.

Colfax traveled to Davenport with the aim of knocking the Gorillas out of an exclusive second-place as the NE race approaches its last two rounds. Davenport went into the game with a 5-1 mark and the Bulldogs were at 4-2.

Colfax led by two points after the second half, and extended the lead to eight points after the break, but Davenport came back to score the last three TDs and post a 38-28 win to remain the lone team in the number-two slot behind undefeated Liberty.

The Gorillas play at Liberty this week.

The loss leaves Colfax at 4-3 on the season with a trip to Springdale Friday to play the Crusaders and a home finale against Kettle Falls the following week.

“We need to finish in the top six,” Morgan said. He noted the last two rounds of the NE could break several ways with the crossover round, the last hurdle to get into the 2B state playoffs set for Nov. 3. The top three finishers in the league will match up with the next three finishers in inverse order.

Friday’s Colfax game at Davenport featured a first half when neither team made a stop on defense. The teams traded scores with sustained drives on each side.

In fact, the whole game featured just one punt, by Colfax, in the second half.

Another odd factor was the possession time. Both teams rolled for a lot of yards, but Colfax mixed in a 72-yard passing attack and averaged 9.3 yards rushing. The end result was quicker scores for the Bulldogs and grind-it-out campaigns for the G club. They totaled over 34 minutes of possession time compared to 13:15 total possession for Colfax.

“They just grind it out,” Morgan explained.

Colfax came closest to making a stop in the first half when Davenport appeared to be running out of time. They kept possession, again, with 37 seconds remaining and then scored with 21 seconds left with Alex Plasensia putting the ball in the end zone on a one-yard plunge. After that, the Gorillas failed to convert another two-point conversion attempt, and Colfax went into the break with a 22-20 lead because they scored two of their three conversions in the half.

The three Colfax TDs in the first half came on a 43-yard escape by Ben Ahmann, a sideline pass from Ahmann to Nick Klaveano who shook off the last G tackler and went 65 yards for the tally, and a 10-yard scoring scamper by Ahmann at 5:30 in the second quarter.

After the break, Ahmann escaped for 28 yards at 9:04 in the third quarter to punch the Colfax lead up to 28-20, but the Bulldog scoring ended there.

Davenport scored 18 straight points, three touchdowns and no conversions, to finish with a 38-28 win.

Plasensia, a 140-pound sophomore, scored with a 22-yard run in the last two minutes of the third quarter, and a five-yard charge for the go-ahead score at 8:39 in the last quarter. Senior Bailey Hunton booked the last score with 4:37 left in the game.

Colfax Friday will head for Springdale to play the Crusaders who are back under the tutelage of coach Mark Edwards. The Chargers, who sustained a 16-33 loss to the LRSW Broncos Friday, now stand at 1-6 in the league.

Friday’s game at Springdale will start at 6 p.m. because Springdale will be celebrating homecoming.

Colfax stats: 342 yards, 9-270 rushing, 3-8 for 72 passing, time of possession 13:45, firsts down 16, penalties 3-30, Passing: Ben Ahmann 1-1 65, Brett Kincaid 2-7 7; Rushing – B. Ahmann 17-173, Christopher Jones 10-74, Kincaid 2-23; Receiving-Nick Klaveano 1-65, Zach Jorsch 1-13, Jones 1-minus 6. Tackles- Dane Hall 7, Augie Allenbach 7, Jones 5, Blake Bodey 5, Matthew Neu 4, Nick Klaveano 4, B. Ahmann 3, Gabe Ahmann 3

Davenport stats: 353 yards, 52-343 rushing, 2-3 for 10 passing, time of possession 34:45, first downs 21, penalties 2-20, Passing Jaden Flett 2-3 10; Rushing: Plasensia 28-230, Hunton 7-43, Justin Regan 16-40, Mitchell McCrea 1-30; Receiving: Regan 2-10.

Nick Klaveano reels in a catch over Davenport's Shayden Haisley for a 65-yard TD pass in the first half.