Fort tops Gap

FORT DEFIANCE – With help from a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Cook, Fort Defiance took a 12-7 win over Buffalo Gap on Friday ending the Bison’s 21-game regular season winning streak.

The game started off equally slow from both sides of the field with both teams getting nowhere fast. It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Indians put up their first touchdown off a quick run from Dakota Canipe, with the handoff coming from Chris Huffman instead of Cook.

Fort’s new coach Dan Rolfe decided to switch off his two quarterbacks, senior Cook and junior Huffman, throughout the game.

“Both quarterbacks bring something different to the table,” said Fort Defiance coach Rolfe. “We needed to find out who would give us a better edge at what we were trying to do.”

But for Cook it’s just another added responsibility since he is also the place kicker and punter.

“That’s why we missed the two extra points,” Rolfe said of Cook. “That’s something that’s a mistake we’ll learn from.”

The Indians reluctantly went into the break with a 6-0 lead and came out with determination on the tip of their arrows.

Eight minutes and 41 seconds into the third quarter, Cook shot a 47-yard touchdown pass right into the hands of Derek Uhler, putting the score at 12-0.

“They [Gap] knew we would try to run the ball,” Rolfe said. “We thought that if we could get them wide then we could get through. Derek caught it and off he went.”

The Bison weren’t going to lie down easy though as they answered with a touchdown of their own off a 46-yard touchdown run from Matt Wenger. The extra point put the score at 12-7 as the Bison regained their confidence.

Fort went into the fourth and quickly racked up a few penalties, giving the Bison a shot at another touchdown. As the Gap slowly but surely marched it’s way down the field, while running down the clock, Rolfe started sweating it.

“They [Gap] exploited us,” Rolfe said. “We got overaggressive and their play action froze our linebackers.”

With time ticking down, the Bison inched closer and closer to the goal line. A long pass from the quarterback Trevor Campbell to the waiting hands of Matt Kennell in the end zone was, luckily for the Indians, ruled incomplete, but the Bison had one shot left with 20 seconds on the clock.

“I was just hoping that we could stop them [Gap],” Rolfe said.

On fourth-and-10 at the 16-yard line, Gap’s Campbell scrambled in the backfield only to be sacked by Joe Sharp and Ronnie Mongold putting an end to the Bison’s offensive attack.

The Indians (1-0) face Broadway on Friday while the Bison (0-1) head to Bath County.