Wrapping up an extremely difficult three-game stretch to open the season, the Dolores Bears football lost to the Paonia Eagles 48-6 on Friday, Sept. 20. With the loss, the Bears dropped to 0-3 on the season while with the win, the Eagles\u2019 improved to 3-1.<\/p>\n
Starting slowly for the third consecutive game, the Bears were haunted by early miscues, including a botched snap on a punt attempt, and by the end of the first quarter, trailed 21-0.<\/p>\n
Problems continued for the Bears into the second quarter as Paonia\u2019s offense continued to find the end zone, and after three more touchdowns, the Eagles led 40-0 at the half.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kind of the same,\u201d said Bears\u2019 head coach Chris Trusler, describing his team\u2019s early-game struggles. \u201cThe first half, we made a lot of mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Things began to come together for the Bears in the second half, however, as the Bears\u2019 defense limited the Eagles to one touchdown in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems that so far this year, it is taking the guys until the second half to get in tune and get going,\u201d said Trusler. \u201cThe first three games, the second half, the kids are in sync.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building on their third quarter successes, the Bears\u2019 offense came to life in the fourth quarter, scoring the team\u2019s first touchdown of the season on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by sophomore quarterback Jalen Balderrama. With the score, the Bears cut the Eagles lead to 48-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really relieving for the guys to finally get rid of that goose egg and put points on the board,\u201d Trusler said, of his team\u2019s touchdown.<\/p>\n
Among players cited by Trusler for their outstanding individual effort was Bears\u2019 senior linebacker Easton Upton, who was in on multiple tackles throughout the game.<\/p>\n
Looking to finally break into the win column, the Bears will next travel to Del Norte to face Del Norte High School on Saturday, Sept. 28.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re feeling pretty confident about the (Del Norte) game and so are the kids,\u201d said Trusler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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