QC fights to the end, falls to Prairiland 14-7

By Adam Pettit

The Queen City Bulldogs traveled to Pattonville, to take on the Prairiland Patriots last Friday night. 
The game opened with Prairiland winning the toss and electing to receive.  
After a QC kickoff, the Patriots started on their own 32. Prairiland’s offense began moving the ball immediately with a 14-yard pass and an 11-yard jet sweep.  
A couple of plays later the Bulldogs forced a fumble causing the Patriots to lose seven yards, eventually forcing a fourth-and-long situation. Prairiland lined up on the QC 43-yard line and tried a pass down field that was broken up by Bradley Norton.  
QC began their first drive utilizing the running game. Dwight Glover and Josh Henry got the offense rolling with consecutive carries resulting in first downs. QC was diverse in its attack, allowing several players to carry the ball on the drive.  
With less than three minutes remaining in the quarter Henry took the snap at the Patriots’ 13-yard line and darted into the end zone.  
Unfortunately for QC, there was a holding call against the Bulldogs which caused the play to be called back. The Bulldogs eventually found themselves in a fourth-and-long situation as the first frame came to a close.
The Bulldogs opened the second quarter with a field goal attempt that fell short and Prairiland took over on its own 17-yard line. The Patriots opened the drive with several big plays but were forced into a fourth-and-six situation on the QC 17-yard line.  
Prairiland sent the field goal unit onto the field but the attempt was no good.
QC took over with a long field and couldn’t find a rhythm as the drive resulted in a three-and-out.  
The punt returner for the Patriots dropped the kick but Prairiland was able to recover on their own 43. On third-and-10, the Prairiland quarterback found a receiver downfield for a 34-yard pickup and the Patriots started to gain offensive momentum.  After a face mask penalty against the Bulldogs, the Patriots were on the 1-yard line.  
Prairiland scored the first touchdown of the game on a slant pass in the end zone. The PAT was good and the Bulldogs found themselves down 7-0 with 41 seconds left in the half.  
The Bulldogs opened the second half on offense.  
On the second play of the drive the ball was handed off to Colton Davis. Davis sprinted down the left side of the field for a 62-yard touchdown.  
Jose Ray came on for the extra point and kicked the ball through the uprights; tying the score at 7-all with just over 11 minutes left in the third quarter.   
The offensive momentum for the Patriots continued on their next drive as they started on their own 39-yard line and ended up in the red zone again.  
On third-and-one from the QC 3-yard line, the Patriots’ running back took the handoff up the middle and into the end zone.  The PAT was successful and Prairiland took a 14-7 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Prairiland attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Bulldogs on the 50-yard line.  
QC could not capitalize on the field position, however, as the offense went three-and-out. Ray came on to punt the ball and unleashed a kick that pinned the Patriots on their own 3-yard line.  Prairiland controlled the ball through the end of the third quarter to the seven minute mark in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs’ defense forced a turnover on a fourth-and-11 situation on the QC 25-yard line.  
The Patriots’ quarterback attempted a pass that was played well and broken up by James Williams.  
The Bulldogs took over on offense but were forced into committing a turn over on downs of their own on the Prairiland 34-yard line.  
The teams continued to trade possessions until one minute left in the game.  
Prairiland had possession of the ball at their own 24-yard line. The Patriots’ running back broke free in the middle of the field until he was caught from behind and fumbled the ball.  
Jaeger Jaynes picked the ball up and returned it to the Prairiland 41. At this point, there was 32 seconds remaining in the game and the Bulldogs were out of timeouts.  
After three plays that resulted in no positive yardage the Bulldogs found themselves in a fourth-and-long situation with 13 seconds remaining.  
Henry threw the ball downfield and found Isaiah Stiger for a 36-yard pickup. The clock paused temporarily so the first down chains could be reset and QC spiked the ball to stop the clock with one second left.  
The ball was on the 18-yard line and the Bulldogs had one shot at the end zone. Henry threw the ball down field once again but this time the ball fell incomplete.  
The game ended with a final score of 14-7. 
On Sept. 1, the junior varsity team hosted Prairiland and lost a barn burner 45-42.
Kemya Hicks scored four touchdowns and had one 2-point conversion for QC; Daries Allen scored one touchdown and had two 2-pont conversions and Dylan Scott threw a touchdown to Nate Burden.
QC is at home this Friday to take on the L-K Tigers in the third installment of the Cass County Clash.  Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.