Dixon starts fast, closes out opening win on road

STILLMAN VALLEY – Dixon started the 2023 season with some fireworks. It finished the opener with a workmanlike 28-14 road win over Stillman Valley.

Junior Tyson Dambman returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, senior Tyler Shaner ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns, and the Dukes were in control from start to finish to start the season 1-0.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Stillman Valley football ]

Dambman took the opening kickoff at his own 25-yard line and hesitated for a beat, then hit the hole in the middle of the field and outran the Stillman kick coverage team for a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

“I just waited for the blockers to do their job, and when I saw the hole, I ran through it. It wasn’t me, it was all my blockers,” Dambman said. “It was great. We had a lot of energy, and it felt good.”

Already hyped up for the first Friday night of the season, the electrifying start pushed the Dukes’ energy even higher.

“It took it to the next level,” Shaner said. “As soon as I saw that, I thought, ‘OK, great start, now we’ve got to keep it rolling if we want to win.’”

The Cardinals (0-1) answered with a 12-play scoring drive to tie the game, then pounced on a Shaner fumble. But the Dixon defense forced a three-and-out, and Shaner made amends on the very next play, sprinting 61 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

After another Stillman three-and-out, senior Aiden Wiseman ran for 35 yards on the first play of Dixon’s next possession, then Shaner scampered into the end zone from 24 yards for a 21-7 lead with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.

“In the first half, our offensive line was killing it. They couldn’t do anything on defense; their front six was just helpless, almost,” Shaner said. “Their defense did a really good job making adjustments and doing a better job of picking up on certain things. But we did what we had to do up front tonight.”

After that, both defenses made stops to stall out long drives. The Cardinals drove to the Dixon 14 before turning the ball over on downs after a nine-play drive, then the Dukes missed a field goal after an 11-play drive.

Stillman fumbled on its first drive of the second half, but the Cards’ defense forced a three-and-out. They then tried to seize the momentum, as Braden Engel ran in from 14 yards out to cash in after Isaiah Herebia set them up inside the red zone with 68-yard run on second-and-18.

But the Dukes didn’t let things get away from them. The teams traded punts, then Dixon took some time off the clock before turning it over on downs early in the fourth quarter. The Dukes then forced a Stillman punt before the final game-sealing drive.

“I think it was just playing as a team, honestly,” Shaner said about not letting the Cardinals steal the momentum. “We have this mentality of ‘next guy up.’ We had a lot of guys go out with cramps, injuries, whatever; it’s the next guy up, you’ve got to hop in if we need you to, and we did a great job of that. I think that really helped push us to the next level.”

That last scoring drive lasted 4:06 and covered 83 yards in 10 plays. It was ignited by Tyler Shaner connecting on a few short passes to younger brother Cullen. Tyler was 4-for-5 passing on the drive, with the big gainer a 30-yard hook-up with Cullen for a first down at the Stillman 15. Tyler Shaner capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run two plays later for a 28-14 lead with 4:58 remaining to put the game away.

Dixon recovered a fumble and forced a turnover on downs in the final two Stillman drives to seal the Game 1 victory.

“We all did our own job. We all did good with that, but we all can get better,” said Damban, who also recovered a fumble on defense. “Everybody can get better, but it feels great to win the way we did.”

Wiseman finished with 84 yards on 11 rushes, and Tyler Shaner also threw for 93 yards on 10-for-15 passing, tossing completions to four different receivers. Cullen Shaner had four catches for 41 yards, and Collin Scott had three receptions for 25 yards.

Herebia ran for 95 yards to lead Stillman, while Keaton Rauman had 64 rushing yards. Engel ran for 36 yards and threw for 40 yards. KJ Chavers caught one pass from Engel and one from Rauman for a total of 61 yards receiving to lead the Cardinals.