Bulldogs bitten

By Brain Johnson
Contributing Writer

MEEKER - Defense carried the Meeker Bulldogs most of the way Friday night.
But it didn’t carry them far enough as the Little Axe Indians overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit and nine turnovers to shock the Bulldogs 20-14 in overtime in a District 2A-2 football clash.
Quarterback Daniel Leonard scored on a 2-yard run with 34.9 seconds to go in regulation before teammate Robby Dryden ran in a 2-point conversion to force the extra session.
Little Axe then stuffed Meeker on the first possession in OT before Leonard scored on a 2-yard plunge to set off a celebration on the visitors’ sideline.
“In the first half, I thought we played pretty well. Our defense stepped up when it needed to,” said a disappointed Meeker head coach Mike Hedge. “We had a chance to put the game away and didn’t do it. When you let someone hang around like we let them tonight, you’re going to get beat.”
The Bulldogs, who dropped to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in the district, intercepted six passes, returning two for touchdowns, and recovered three Indian fumbles, but couldn’t hang on.
Meeker managed to pick up just one first down after intermission.
“We never got a first down when we needed it. If we did, we run out the clock,” Hedge said.
The Bulldogs took the 14-0 halftime lead with two pickoff returns for touchdowns.
Dylan Graham’s 22-yard interception return and TD led to a 7-0 Meeker advantage with 3:23 to go in the opening quarter.
Then with the Indians pinned deep in their territory, linebacker Jacky Cloud leaped and snatched a high Little Axe aerial and raced untouched 10 yards for the score with 9:50 left before halftime.
The Indians had six of their turnovers in the first half alone as Cloud had the first of his two for the game. He also recovered a fumble. Ryan Langrehr and Josh Standlee also intercepted one pass apiece in the first half. Standlee, like Cloud, also pilfered a pass in the second half. Shawn Orso and Graham each recovered a fumble in the game for Meeker.
The Bulldogs limited Little Axe to 37 yards of total offense and only three first downs in the opening two quarters while compiling 126 yards of their own, with nine first downs, during that span.
However, the second half and OT belonged to Little Axe.
The Indians took the second-half kickoff and burned over six minutes of the clock to pull within 14-6 after a missed extra point.
Leonard connected with a diving Jacob Bookout on an 8-yard scoring pass with 5:51 to go in the third. The scoring play capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive.
Little Axe even went on to fumble a lateral and throw two more interceptions on its next three series, but stopped Meeker at the Indian 47 and took possession with 2:23 left.
The Indians, who completed just 1-of-6 passes with the four pickoffs in the first half, were 10-of-20 for 154 yards in the second half. The big play of the game-tying drive was a 36-yard bomb from Leonard to Brandon Cox to the Bulldog 10-yard line.
Cox caught six passes for 115 yards, all after halftime.
Meeker will take on Centennial next Friday night at Star Spencer High School.