By ALISSA NOE | Colorado Preps
PUBLISHED: September 5, 2023 at 2:50 p.m. | UPDATED: September 5, 2023 at 2:51 p.m.
What a difference a year makes.
Last season, Peetz football struggled to make it to .500 through its eight games, winning just three. Two games into this fall, the Bulldogs aren’t just winning out. They’re getting state-wide recognition for it.
In the newly-minted Colorado Preps select media football poll — which features voters from Colorado Preps, the Grand Junction Sentinel, 9News Denver, the Colorado Springs Gazette, BoCoPreps, the Greeley Tribune and the Delta County Independent — the Bulldogs earned a No. 10 ranking to match their 2-0 record.
Their ride began with a 51-0 smackdown of Kiowa, then led into a 36-14 victory over Prairie, which also earned votes in the poll.
In their most recent contest, the Bulldogs got on the board early and often, scoring a touchdown in each of the first two quarters before finding an additional spark in the second half. Peetz netted 14 points in the third quarter before ending their offensive drive with another touchdown and 2-point conversion in the final frame. That fourth quarter was the only one they allowed the Mustangs to score.
Senior quarterback Chance Segelke completed two-thirds of his passes for 106 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with senior Noah Naegele twice and sophomore Rhyder Bayne once for those scores. Bayne, meanwhile, moved the ball exceptionally well on the ground, amassing 196 yards, but didn’t score a touchdown on any of those runs.
He left that responsibility to freshman Conner Schumacher and senior Wyatt Talhem, who each scored once.
After sprinting out to a strong start, the Bulldogs will have an even better chance at victory when they host Cheyenne Wells on Friday at 2 p.m. The Tigers have had an especially difficult first couple of games, falling 65-16 to reigning state champion Stratton and 50-0 to Cheylin, a school out of Kansas.
(Update, Peetz won and is now 3-0)
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