KILLDEER — For the Bowman County Bulldogs it was a night of end zone dominance against southwest North Dakota rival Killdeer Cowboys. The Dogs entered enemy territory and walked away with a 46-6 week 4 victory.
Overpowered early and ultimately consumed by their own mistakes, the Cowboys were unable to put points on the board until the fourth quarter.
Killdeer was immediately outmatched in the first eight minutes of the game as Bowman scored their first touchdown and succeeded on the seemingly not-so-rare two-point conversion. The Cowboys made a scrappy effort to retaliate, but struggled to find success in the air or gain critical yardage on the ground — with many first and second down attempts thwarted for negative yardage.
“The majority of our starters are sophomores or freshmen and they’re not big…,” Andrew Cook, Cowboys head coach, said. “Those kids gave their guts all night long against a team that was so much bigger than us. When your guys are weighing 170 pounds and the other guys are weighting 240 and up, it’s a tough night.”
Nick Dukart, Cowboys wide receiver coach agreed, noting that the Cowboys' lack of size and experience was the biggest obstacles this season. As the season goes on, Dukart expects the team to improve substantially.
The Bohmbach brothers, Gus and Tucker, were the primary ball carriers for the Cowboys on offense, but couldn’t squeeze through a collapsing line. Killdeer would be routinely stopped by a Bulldogs defensive line that seems poised for post season honors already in the young season. Quarterback Bohden Duffield consistently found check down receivers and second options all night as consistent darts garnered 6.
In the middle of the second, the Cowboys fumbled on a miscued snap, going out of the frying pan and into the fire when it was recovered by Bowman who took advantage to bring the game to 24-0.
The Bulldogs controlled possession of the ball for much of the game, eating the clock in merciful time-consuming drives, which the Cowboys were unable to stop. By the start of the third, the Cowboys were flustered and fatigued as a downhill battle and brutal score deficit became insurmountable.
“I thought our guys played good starting out the game,” Bowman head coach Nathan Kees said. “We capitalized off some turnovers and made most of those points in the first half. Things went well and we had a couple lucky breaks. We blocked them and controlled the line of scrimmage up front and our offense got after it.”
In a final play of the first half, the Cowboys fumbled again, allowing the Bulldogs to cross the goal line before converting on another successful two-point conversion for a 40-0 lead.
A Bowman turnover in the third gave the Cowboys an opportunity to start momentum, but they were unable to capitalize. By the conclusion of the third, the Bulldogs had brought home another touchdown increasing the score to 46-0, and sending a clear message to all that the game was all but over.
With just half of a quarter left to play, the Cowboys scored consolation points on their one and only touchdown in an effort that came against a second string defense.
With this loss, the Cowboys overall record falls to 1-3.
“We have to keep chipping away at the things we need to get better at,” Cook said. “They gave it everything they had…and it’s a rough deal when you’re running yourself into a meat grinder.”
Official stats were not provided at the conclusion of the game.