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Instead of a two and a half hour bus ride, the Dodgeville football team got to face one of the best teams and best quarterbacks in the state on their home field.
The "home cooking" didn't help much as a quick and talented Wautoma team outdistanced the Dodgers 56-27.
The game was scheduled for Wautoma but storm damage and power outages forced plans to change. So, the Hornets put on their traveling shoes and didn't stop running. They scored 20 first quarter points, added 22 in the second and 14 in the third.
The Dodgers scored in every quarter as they tried to keep up.
Nick Crowley caught a 27 yard pass from Austyn Whitlatch for the first Dodgeville score and a Whitlatch to Jake Bechen pass cut the Hornet lead to 20-8.
The Dodgers scored again to make it 42-14 in the second quarter on a Whitlatch one yard plunge.
Evan Dowling accounted for the third quarter touchdown on a 44 yard run.
The defense scored the final touchdown for the Dodgers when Kristian Haag picked off a pass and ran it 80 yards. Whitlatch's kick made it the final score, 56-27.
Tad Davis ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns and Wes Hetcher grabbed two passes for 96 yards and a touchdown to do the major damage for the Hornets.
"Wautoma has several players who are very quick and have a lot of talent," Dodgeville coach Scott Tolzman said. "Their quarterback is one of the better ones I have seen in years. They can score quickly and we knew we had to stop their passing game."
But it ended up to be a double edged sword for the Dodgers.
The Hornets ran for 336 yards and scored on runs of 73, 54, 56 and 25 to tally enough on the ground to win.
"They were just quicker than we were and we had to try to pass to answer their scores," Tolzman said. We were able to run the football but we got behind and didn't execute very well."
The running game for the Dodgers worked well in spurts.
"Our young players are getting better each week but we still need work on picking up blitzes," Tolzman said.
Whitlatch ran for 44 yards in 11 carries and Dowling ran four times for 44 yards. Crowley's two catches netted 43 yards and Logan Yaeger grabbed two for 35.
"Our young players are getting better each time out," Tolzman said.
Two who are stepping up their game are Whitlatch and Crowley.
"Austyn has improved a lot from last year and even though he didn't have his best night Friday he has become a great leader on the field and is a good weapon with the run and pass. He is one of the top quarterbacks in the league," Tolzman said.
"Nick has improved a lot and has stepped up his game," Tolzman said. "He is a reliable receiver and has made several big catches, making it harder for teams to key on one receiver."
Defensively the Dodgers got seven tackles and an 80 yard interception for a touchdown from Krisitian Haag. Brycen Pratt had five tackles and caused a fumble. Josh Fredrich recovered a fumble and Hunter Gullickson had three tackles with one a sack.
The Dodgers found out they need to play a full game and come ready to play, in Tolzman's estimation.
"We need to be ready and play hard," he said. "But the good thing is this team did not give up. We may have been hampered somewhat in mental preparation in the game being switched to here because we were out of sync all night."
The Dodgers host Adams-Friendship this Friday.
"They are 0-3 but have played some good teams," Tolzman said. "They like to spread it out and play aggressively on defense. We need to come ready to play and not overlook them. We have never played them so it could be an interesting game."