Squaring off against Del Norte on the road on Sept. 22, the Dove Creek High School football team made enough defensive plays to keep the game close.

A first-half injury to starting quarterback Ryan Martinez doomed Dove Creek’s cause, as the Bulldogs lost 20-0 and dropped to 1-3 on the year.

“Ryan went down at halftime, so we didn’t’ have him for the whole second half,” said Bulldogs head coach Shane Baughman. “Our freshman quarterback, Austin Beanland, stepped in and did a pretty good job considering that he hasn’t run our offense much this year.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Dove Creek remained competitive throughout the contest thanks in large part to junior nose guard JD Dennison, who had a team-high 16 tackles. Hayden Gray also put forth a solid effort on the defensive side of the ball as the freshman recorded 11 tackles. Austin Beanland came through with an interception.

Offensive woes doomed the Bulldogs. however, as the team amassed just 61 yards of total offense and failed to score a touchdown.

“We had a lot of mistakes and some lack of effort on offense,” Baughman said. “We struggled, and we couldn’t move the ball. JD Dennison and Hayden Grey had great games, and (Del Norte) only had three big plays, but that was enough.”

Next up for the Bulldogs will be a rare Wednesday night home game against Shiprock Northwest in Dove Creek on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.