Dayton’s Loss To Tigers A Chance To Toughen Up

DAYTON - Josh Frame's 10-yard running touchdown seemed to set the pace for the Bulldogs' season opener against the Stanfield Tigers, giving Dayton a 6 - 0 lead. But it wasn't until well into the fourth quarter and seven Stanfield touchdowns later before the dawgs regained their footing and began to put together a more solid offense.

Even then, however, they were unable to erase any part of their 7-48 deficit and could only take comfort in the fact that the Stanfield Tigers have been picked to win their league and in the notion that the Bulldogs this year are a team under reconstruction. "It's a work in progress," said Dean Bickelhaupt, the new well-liked Bulldogs head coach. "Playing a team like this will only make us better." Not that the rest of the season will be a cakewalk, but the game's fourth quarter showed clear evidence the Bulldogs have it in them to win games, which would be an improvement over the team's 0-14 2009 season. In contrast to some of the games last year, there wasn't the bickering or a drop in attitude when the going got tough Friday night. Bickel­haupt read that as a hopeful sign. "If they keep sticking together, good things will happen," he said. Add to that the starters who were side­lined

for the first game but should be back in the lineup soon and the season won't be as long as the first game foreshadowed.

The Bulldogs' spirit sur­vived three quarters of ham­mering by the Stanfield of­fense. But the team had nearly a handful of turnovers, including several intercep­tions and fumbles. Frame, Kroft Sunderland, Dain Hen­derson and Cruz Ramirez all put away some effective but late defensive tackles.

Ramirez' tackle for a three-yard Tigers' loss helped turn the momentum during the fourth quarter. It was fol­lowed

by several first downs, including an impressive run by Henderson, but the Bull­dogs could not convert a fourth down into a touch­down. The Tigers took over on downs with several min­utes left in the game, sealing their 41-point spread against the home team.

"We have to take care of the ball better," Bickelhaupt said about the turnovers against a team all too capable of taking advantage of them. "Turnovers against a good team like that will kill you." Going into next week's game against Enterprise, Bickelhaupt said he will focus more on the Bulldogs' discipline on the field, trust­ing each other more to hold their positions. "We got our butts beat, but we have lots to look up to," he said. "I'm excited for the season."