Hard to say goodbye: Bulldogs end season in overtime classic

HAMPTON – With tears in his eyes, Hampton-Dumont 21-year head coach Jerry Shafrath made sure he made the rounds of all his seniors for a final hug before each of them left the football field for a final time.

The Bulldogs had just made a valiant effort to tie Dyersville Beckman after being down by two touchdowns in the second half in the Class 2A state quarterfinal game.

However, a 32-yard field goal by Bailey Miller with 10 seconds remaining in regulation that would have won it just went wide left and the Blazers took advantage of overtime to stun H-D, ranked sixth by the Associated Press.

“It felt good,” Bailey Miller said of the field goal attempt, “but when I looked up, I saw it was hooking left and I knew it wasn’t going to go in...."

More on this story is available in the Nov. 12 print and online editions of the Hampton Chronicle.