BOSCOBEL - Friday night saw changes in the lineup continue to pay off for the Bulldogs, though they still fell short in an away game against third ranked Mineral Point with a 35-18 loss.

“Our game plan was simple this past week against Mineral Point,” said Coach Joey Martin. “There are four rules that our student-athletes follow every game and this game proved to be the best to this point. The rules are to play on play at a time, play to your best ability, play against yourself, and give good five-second effort for 48 minutes.  I truly believe that we did this on Friday night at Mineral Point. Our kids played very, very well on Friday night!  I’m not one for moral victories and such, but the game we played was such a good step in the right direction.”

Fullback Casey Swenson made a touchdown run on a three-yard gain for the Bulldogs in a handoff from quarterback Tommy Monroe in the first quarter. The Pointers were able to foil Boscobel’s attempt at a two-point conversion, which left the Bulldogs trailing by a single point as the quarter ended. A second quarter pass from Monroe to Britan Waterman turned into a 17-yard gain and touchdown for the Bulldogs, again followed by an unsuccessful conversion.

Mineral Point repeated their performance, leaving the Bulldogs trailing 14-12 as they headed into halftime.

Returning to play in the third, Monroe executed a spectacular 63-yard touchdown run to bring the Bulldogs up to 28-18, after the Pointers widened the spread with a pair of touchdowns and successful kicks. But from there on, the Mineral Point defense was able to hold Boscobel in check through the fourth quarter while bringing in a final touchdown and kick for themselves to end the game 35-18.

“We were able to get key stops, we were able to make big plays offensively, and we were able to execute all plays,” said Martin. “It was a tough loss for our Bulldogs, as we knew. Through a couple of missed tackles on a punt and a key fumble on a kickoff return, we gave the Pointers short fields twice. We all knew that we were in that game and we put up one great fight.”

Monroe threw four passes with one completion for 17 yards. He also led in rushing with 115 yards in 18 attempted, followed by Casey Swenson with 1-3 and a touchdown.

Waterman led in receiving with two catches for 50 yards.

The Bulldogs are currently in seventh place in the conference with 1-5 and 3-5 overall record.

Boscobel will face Cuba City on the home field Friday at 7 p.m. The Cubans are second in the conference with a 5-1 record.

“We are really looking forward to the challenge that Cuba City brings to the table on Friday night,” Martin said. “Darlington, Mineral Point, and Cuba City are known for their tradition of success in the SWAL.  Cuba City has a very talented team this year, as their record and films show.  We have a lot of work to do, but we are excited for the challenge, especially with where our kids are at right now.  We are fairly healthy, we have such great leadership, and we have a system that is and is proving to be effective.  We hope to put a great product on the field Friday night under the lights for our seniors last home game.”