Oct 13, 2012
Dwight Cadwell-NSO

The Carlton Bulldogs, playing only their third varsity game of the season found themselves behind early but this never say die attitude was again prevalent as the Bulldogs continued to battle and came up just short Friday night as they fell to the Warriors of West Lutheran by a final score of 28-14.

The was no scoring in the first quarter Friday night as both teams tried to feel each other out; the Warriors found themselves on the scoreboard first when Matt Egeberg scored on a 9 yard touchdown run and the Warriors led 6-0.

The Warriors added one more touchdown before halftime when Nate Kieffer scored on a 38 yard scamper and it was a 12-0 lead for West Lutheran at the halftime break. Kieffer added his second touchdown to start the third period this time a 15 yard touchdown run.

Kieffer added a two point conversion on his touchdown run which put the Warriors in front 20-0. Kieffer would make it three touchdowns in the game when he scored on a 34 yard touchdown run and he added the second two point conversion as the Warriors led 28-0 after three quarters of play.

Carlton fought back in the fourth quarter as Mike Moralez scored for Carlton on a 1 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 28-6. Senior Erik Adams scored minutes later when he recovered a Warrior fumble and ran it back 43 yards for the touchdown. Moralez scored on a two point conversion run and that was all the scoring on the night as the Warriors hang on and win by 14 points Friday night.

Moralez finished with 89 yards rushing for the Bulldogs, and Dominic Bennett added another 83 yards on the ground. Erick Adams chipped in with 41 yards rushing and he was a defensive leader as he closed the contest with 14 tackles and the big fumble recovery. Bennett also had a nice night defensively for Carlton, finishing with 16 tackles and a blocked extra point attempt by the Warriors.

The Bulldogs fall to 1-2 on the season and they will play their fourth varsity game of the season next Wednesday night when they will face Red Lake to close out the Regular season. The Bulldogs are hoping with a win next week over the Warriors so they can qualify for a spot in the section tournament. West Lutheran finishes it season with a 3-3 overall record.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com