Rams snakebit by the Rattlers

October 6, 2024

A miscue in the Dubois backfield - h/t Randy Tucker

It was a long afternoon for the Dubois Rams under horrible, smokey conditions as they hosted the top-seeded and unbeaten Little Snake River Rattlers in their Homecoming game.

The afternoon sun was obscured by heavy smoke during the game – h/t Randy Tucker

The Rattlers were runner-up to Burlington in an upset in Laramie last season in the Class 1-A 6-man championship game, but won the title the two previous years and are the best program in small school football at the present time.

Dubois head coach Dan O’Brien addressed his team in a timeout – h/t Randy Tucker

Snake wasted little time in building a 25-0 lead after the opening period against the Rams.

Dubois was hampered by illness, with starting quarterback Siler Hess suffering symptoms early in the morning on game day of an intestinal bug that has roared through Dubois High School.

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The Rams execute a flea flicker – h/t Randy Tucker

The bug wasn’t an excuse as Snake River ran around the Rams on both sides of the line for long opening period touchdowns of 31, 17, 32 and 25 yards. Senior running back Bridger Cozzens accounted for three of those scores.

Payson Pluhar on a sweep – h/t Randy Tucker

Cozzens added three more scores during the game on runs of 77 yards to open the second half, 11 yards and a final 17-yard touchdown in the third period that put the game into the Mercy Rule via the running clock.

Payson Pluhar throws a pass – h/t Randy Tucker

The Rams were dominated on both sides of the ball, gaining just one first down late in the contest.

Defensively Payson Pluhar had an outstanding game, with pad popping hits on Rattler runners, but the blocking, size, quickness and experience of Little Snake River was hard to match.

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Bridger Cozzens with a stiff arm clinic – h/t Randy Tucker