It was a bittersweet ending to the 2016 season for the Dolores Bears football team.
Hosting the Monte Vista Pirates (5-4, 4-1 Southern Peaks League) last Friday, the Bears fell 55-19 to the playoff-bound league champions.
Dolores head coach Chris Trusler said that his team came out confident and played well early, trailing just 13-6 after the first quarter. But the visiting Pirates ran away with things to outscore the home team 42-13 the rest of the way.
And while the Bears lost by 36, they scored more points against Monte Vista than any other team in the Southern Peaks League had this season. Another bright spot for Dolores came with sophomore linebacker Forest Pejsa breaking the school record for total tackles in a season.
The previous record of 162 was set by Lane Gallaher in 2007. But after bringing down 16 ball carriers on Friday, Pejsa finished the season with 165.
His total of 165 not only leads the Southern Peaks League and Class 1A, but it’s tops in the state across all classifications 1A-5A. Mike Berg, from Thompson Valley High School, is second in total tackles with 134.
Dolores finished 3-6 on the year, but Trusler has plenty to be excited about with his anticipated number of returning starters next season.
“We got a lot of young kids a lot of playing time this year,” he said. “And a positive for next year is we’re going to return 10 starters on both sides of the ball. So that’s going to be really beneficial for the guys going into next year. They’re going to have that varsity experience, which should motivate them to really work hard in the offseason.”
The lone senior the Bears will lose to graduation is Tristan Medina, who Trusler said has been a key contributor on and off the field for the last four years.
“He always participated in offseason activities and lifting and workouts,” he explained. “He was a guy for four years we knew we could count on and we knew he was going to be there for the program. He gave a lot to this program and set a good precedent for our younger kids as far as working in the offseason and helping them get better.”
