Friday, October 5^th, the Cougars headed north to take on the Romeo Bulldogs. Both teams with impressive records of 5-1, needed a win to remain within distance of the MAC Red division leaders, Chippewa Valley. The matchup between these two teams in 2017 was a high scoring contest with the Bulldogs coming out victorious by a score of 61 – 33. That game was in clear remembrance by the Dakota seniors and coaches as they referenced this multiple times throughout the week of preparation.

Dakota controlled the game early with a strong scoring drive finished with a 40-yard run by the sophomore running back, DJ Stepney. He also contributed on the defensive side of the ball with 10 tackles. Romeo answered back with a touchdown and then sacked Dakota QB, Mark Tocco in the end zone for a safety on the next drive. The Cougars star sophomore would come up big again with DJ catching a momentum shifting interception. The score went back and forth all game, with clutch plays executed by both teams. Dakota completed a touchdown pass to Patrick Merolla for a touchdown but a blocked PAT would keep the Cougars lead at 8 points. The Bulldogs would drive down the field late in the fourth scoring a touchdown and completing an 18 yard 2–point conversion to send the game to overtime. High School football has similar overtime rules to the collegiate level but they start the drive from the 10-yard line, not the 25. Romeo got in the end zone on their opening drive so Dakota would have to match the score to stay in the game. With the game on the line, Tocco faked a handoff to Stepney and dashed to the goal line for six. In double OT Tocco’s pass was complete to Brandon Michalak to regain the lead. The Cougars ferocious defense would step up and deny the Bulldogs from getting in the end zone on four consecutive run plays. Senior DT Riley Orlando would make the initial hit on the 4^th and 2 play to seal the exciting victory for Dakota. The win clinched Dakota’s 18^th consecutive playoff berth and hope to get redemption on the team that has given them their only lose thus far, Chippewa Valley.