The Summit Tigers football team traveled to Palisade on Friday, Oct. 15, to take on the Bulldogs.

Coming into the matchup between the two 3A Central West opponents, both teams were undefeated in league play after wins against league opponents last week.

From the start, it was evident that the game was going to be a close one as the two teams exchanged blows in the latter half of the first quarter.

After hopping on a loose ball, fumbled by the Tigers, the Bulldogs drove the ball down the field to rush for a red zone touchdown to put Palisade up 6-0. On the very next drive, however, junior quarterback Jack Schierholz broke through the defense for a 53-yard rushing touchdown to even the score going into the second quarter.

More blows were exchanged in the second quarter as Palisade continued to run the ball. Early in the quarter, it drove down into the red zone and scored another rushing touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 13-6.

Schierholz answered back with a 45-yard dart to senior Aiden Collins to tie the game at 13-13. This was followed by another grueling, run-heavy drive by the Bulldogs, which ended in them capitalizing with another rushing touchdown and a successful two-point conversion to put the Bulldogs ahead 21-13.

Before heading into the locker room, the Tigers put together a drive that ended with a 6-yard rushing touchdown from senior Evan Chastain. The Tigers failed their two-point conversion attempt and marched into the locker room down 21-19.

In the third quarter, it looked as if the Tigers were going to break free from the Bulldogs as Schierholz continued to put on an air show, connecting with senior Philip Berezinski for a 47-yard touchdown. The touchdown put the Tigers up 26-21 midway through the third quarter.

However, in the fourth quarter, a rush-dominant drive by the Bulldogs ending in another red zone touchdown put the Bulldogs ahead for good.The Tigers tried to drive the ball late in the game but were stopped by the Bulldogs, and they turned the ball over on downs with about a minute remaining. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers 29-26.

Schierholz ended up completing 19 of 23 attempts for 284 yards with 50 yards rushing in the process. However, the Tigers defense struggled to put a stop to the run game of the Bulldogs as they recorded 313 rushing yards, with 121 yards coming from junior Phallen Salvati.

The loss makes the Tigers 1-1 in league play and 4-3 overall. Summit will next face Battle Mountain at home at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22.