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| September 19,
2004 Field goal propels Bulldogs by Spartans By Tammy Nunez Justin Beitzel took a deep breath, squared for the uprights, and thought: "This is just an extra point, this is just an extra point ." Actually, it was a 27-yard field goal that would hand Fontainebleau its first-ever victory against Salmen and earn the Bulldogs the most significant victory in the program's history. "I just saw it go through, and I started pumping my fists up and down," Beitzel, who is place-kicking for the first time this season, said. "Last week, we had a chance to get that defining win, and we didn't. This time we did." The field goal gave Fontainebleau a 24-21 overtime win at the Dawg Pound on Saturday night in a non-district game. Salmen opened the overtime with two incomplete passes and a holding penalty, followed by a short pass on third-and-goal. The Spartans elected to kick the 24-yard field goal with Kyle Hopton. But Fontainebleau's Rudy Odom noticed on previous extra points that he could possibly have leeway to the inside of the blocker in front of him. So Odom barreled in and thrust his hands downward, flicking Hopton's kick to the side. "It was pretty exciting," Odom said. "Beating Salmen is something we've never done before. It's awesome." Salmen (1-2) never trailed in regulation. Todd Carson set up the telling Fontainebleau (2-1) touchdown with 10:53 remaining in the game. Carson recovered Derrick Sander's fumble, giving Fontainebleau possession on the Spartan 41-yard line. Christian Ducre, who broke up a pass during overtime on defense and also came up with an interception in the first half, rushed for all 40 yards of the three-play drive, including a 35-yard weaving touchdown run. Beitzel's kick tied the score at 21. The Spartans had several opportunities to increase their lead to two touchdowns in the second half, but couldn't push further ahead. Brett Carlton intercepted a Fontainebleau pass to give the Spartans a shot from the Fontainebleau 27 in the third quarter. However, later in the drive, Michael Peterson sacked Sander for a 16-yard loss, and the ensuing fourth-down pass fell incomplete. Ryan Sampson's three touchdown runs of 1, 4, and 43 yards weren't enough for Salmen. "We left them around a little too long," Salmen coach Jerry Leonard said. "They just keep on grinding away. If we just could have put another touchdown up there, it might have been a different story, but I give credit to them."
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