Bulldogs unravel against tenacious Clear Lake team

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By Laura Giammattei, Sports Correspondent

BOYCEVILLE — After cutting a 24-6 Clear Lake advantage down to just 10 points in the third quarter, Boyceville unraveled. The Bulldogs allowed a safety and a touchdown to the Warriors late in the fourth quarter to end their first home game of the season in a 34-14 non-conference defeat last Friday night.

Boyceville head coach Michael Roemhild had expected his team to come out and give the Warriors a run for their money, but a lack of execution on all ends of the field left the Bulldogs out of rhythm and out of focus in the August 30 football contest.

That lack of focus was seen early, as Boyceville started the first quarter off with a fumble, recovered and returned for a touchdown by Clear Lake. The Warriors followed that up with a two-point conversion to take an early 8-0 lead. The Bulldogs took over, but quickly handed the ball right back on another fumble. However, this time they managed to hold the Warriors off on fourth and one on the goal line.

Clear Lake found their second touchdown of the game just as the second quarter opened up, following a steady march upfield. A much needed stop for the Bulldogs on the Warriors’ two-point conversion made it a two touchdown game at 14-0.

As the half was coming to a close, Boyceville made another big stop on Clear Lake, forcing a punt, which went out of bounds, giving the Bulldogs solid positioning at their own 30-yard line. Three plays later, Brendan Sempf found the end zone on a 4-yard run to put the Bulldogs on the board before halftime, 14-6.

Although both teams came out in the second half with strong defensive performances, with four minutes left in the third quarter, a shaky Boyceville punt rolled out of bounds in the endzone for a safety, giving away two points to the Warriors. Taking advantage of Boyceville’s nerves, Clear Lake found the end zone once again on a 5-yard carry. Another successful two-point conversion lifted their lead to 24-6 as the third quarter came to a close.

With their backs to the wall, the Bulldogs fought hard to hold the Warrior’s offense at bay most of the fourth quarter, and gained back eight points after Boyceville’s Sebastian Nielson returned a 4-yard carry on a handoff from quarterback Conner Sempf. On the two-point conversion, Connor Sempf kept the ball and ran it in for a 3-yard gain and closed Clear Lake’s lead to ten at 24-14 with 4:51 to go.

But it was too little, too late for the Bulldogs, as the Warriors closed the scoring out with another safety, touchdown and two-point conversion to take the win home.

Coach Roemhild said that while the game was disappointing in terms of tenacity, it was good for the team to see what it was like to be behind and try to fight back.

“We didn’t bring it like I was expecting,” he said. “Our fire was not there from pregame and it seemed like we were playing not to lose. We did not execute on offense, defense, or special teams, and our special teams did not play confident. Defensively, we played flat and didn’t stick to our assignments that we had practiced all week. But, we saw what it was like to be behind in a game and try to fight our way back. I am proud of the way the guys fought to stay in it.”

Boyceville, who lost four of its five fumbles, found most of their yardage in the air (78 of its 140 yards), with Connor Sempf going 9-for-16 for a total of 97 yards. He found Brendan Sempf on two plays for 32 yards and Tyler Dormanen on two plays for 42 yards. Connor Sempf led in rushing yards with 12 while Nielsen finished with 10.

The Bulldogs prepare to meet with their rivals the Glenwood City Hilltoppers (0-2) as they open up Dunn-St. Croix Conference play this upcoming Friday at home.

“We know that Glenwood City is going to change what didn’t work for them the past two weeks, and that they are going to be hungry to get their first win against us,” Roemhild said. “If we play like we did against Clear Lake, we will see the same results and be 0-1 in conference. We are hoping for a packed field full of loud and crazy Bulldog fans who are going to help raise the energy for this team.”