Heading into this season with a roster made up of five juniors, five sophomores, and 10 freshman, Shane Baughman is not quite sure what to expect. Dove Creek’s head football coach did say however, that he expects his team to remain competitive and win a few games.
“We’re looking to win two or three games and be competitive in others,” Baughman said. “We’ve got a little talent here, so we’ll see what happens.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs will be led by quarterback Ryan Martinez, who threw for 253 yards and rushed for 199 yards last season. Martinez also led last year’s team with five total touchdowns.
Other contributors on offense figure to be sophomore running back Cade Curtis and freshman running back Gage Bailey, who lack varsity experience but have looked good in practice thus far.
On the offensive and defensive lines, junior JD Dennison will lead a group that Baughman believes will be a strong point for the Bulldogs thanks to the coaching of offensive line coach Steve Stiasny.
While Baughman admitted that the team’s offensive scheme may not be as complex as it has been in previous years, he said that coaches will implement increasingly complex plays over the course of the season.
“We’re going to try to keep it pretty vanilla to keep it simple on the young minds,” Baughman said. “We’re not going to build Rome in a day. It’s going to take a couple of years, but we have some athletes and some of our freshmen will be big-time contributors.”
Dove Creek, which finished last season with a 1-8 record, will open this season on the road against Rangely on Sept. 1 before playing its home opener against Plateau Valley on Sept. 8. The Bulldogs will face off against league rival Mancos on the road on Oct. 21.