“The defense played intense and never gave in, finishing the game with a fourth-down stand on the 18-yard line with two minutes to go in the game,” he said.
The Panthers remain undefeated this season and will put their 3-0 record on the line Friday, when they host the Plateau Valley Cowboys on Yeager Field.
In Dove Creek, Coach Fortunato said the Bulldogs scored on the first drive of the game on a screen pass that went for 40 yards and “Dove Creek was large up front and did a great job stopping our inside game.”
Dove Creek’s line may have stopped Rangely senior Ethan Allred inside, but Coach Fortunato said, “We were able to find a linebacker mismatch with Ethan, get the ball to him a few times and they turned into huge plays.”
Quarterback Kaulan Brady completed four passes, including two for touchdowns to Allred, one to senior Kelton Elam for 19 yards and another to Jessie Powell. Kiki Ruiz led the Panthers with 58 yards rushing.
“Offensively, we turned the ball over four times; it was awful,” coach Fortunato said. “We need to tone down the penalty flags and timely turnovers. The most important thing is, even with those mistakes we are finding ways to win against good teams.”
Senior Luis Contreras led the Panthers with 15 tackles, Powell and Allred were each in on 10 tackles and Allred recorded a sack. Brady was in on six tackles and senior Freddi Ruiz was in on five and both recovered fumbles for the Panthers. Elam and junior Austin Blakely were each in on five tackles also.
The lights will be on at Yeager Field as the Panthers host the Plateau Valley Cowboys on Friday night.
