The Montrose High School football team put a stop to Durango’s strong rushing attack during a 39-7 victory on Friday night.
The battle between ranked, cross-classification opponents came down to the defense of No. 4 Indians, who remain undefeated on the season at 3-0 and among the strongest teams in Class 4A.
PHOTO BY BOBBY GUTIERREZ
The No. 2 Demons (now No. 4 in the latest 3A rankings) had rushed for 724 yards during their first two games but were held to just 123 yards on 41 carries in their third contest. Montrose also came up with two interceptions and smothered a fake punt attempt.
On offense, Montrose was led by Austin Griffin, who tallied 156 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 22 carries.
Elsewhere, Fruita Monument (2-1) joined the 4A rankings at No. 10 after a 47-7 shellacking of Grand Junction (0-3) to earn the Black and Blue Trophy.
Six different Wildcats players scored on the ground: Peyton Nessler, Calvin Nycum, Sam Ontiveros, Wyatt Sharpe, Armony Trujillo and Amari Wilson. Fruita totaled 349 yards on 28 carries, a 12.5-yard-per-carry average.
Grand Junction Central (1-2) fell 17-0 to Fairview.
CLASS 3A
Glenwood Springs remained undefeated with another close victory, this time downing Conifer 35-27.
The Demons (3-0) were paced by senior Ray Rosenmerkel, who had 135 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, 34 yards and a touchdown through the air, as well as 82 yards as a returner. He was recovered an onside kick and was 5-for-5 kicking extra points.
Eagle Valley also stayed undefeated with a 48-12 win over Niwot. The Devils (2-0) stretched their lead to 48-6 before surrendering a touchdown late in the game.
Palisade (2-1) rebounded from a loss last week by defeating Delta 28-10. The Bulldogs finished with minus-4 yards passing but tallied 360 yards on the ground across 47 carries. Malakhi Espinosa led the way with 17 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Rhett Ward chipped in 13 carries for 110 yards and a score.
Summit beat Aspen 37-20 and Steamboat Springs topped Middle Park 27-7.
CLASS 2A
Moffat County entered the latest CHSAANow.com poll at No. 9 after a 42-7 homecoming win over Rawlins (Wyo.).
The Bulldogs (3-0) were led by a career day from Evan Atkin, who had 13 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
CLASS 1A
North Fork notched a shutout and held Monte Vista to 103 yards of total offense during a 21-0 victory.
Mordecai White led a two-pronged rushing attack with 25 carries, 147 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Drayden Taylor added 13 carries, 87 yards and a score to go with 55 yards through the air.
Cedaredge punched up, defeating Class 2A Coal Ridge 20-0. Quarterback Ty Walck did it all for the Bruins, with 8-for-11 passing, 120 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the senior totaled 66 yards and a score on 13 carries.
Gunnison got past Grand Valley 17-7 and Meeker hammered Roaring Fork 40-0.
VOLLEYBALL
Emma Luce earned MaxPreps/AVCA Player of the Week honors and Meeker improved to 6-0 with a 3-1 win over Soroco to open 2A/1A Western Slope League play. Luce had 27 of her team’s 38 kills and added a game-high six aces and 28 digs.
Plateau Valley swept Ridgway behind some incredible serving. The Cowboys had 26 aces, paced by 10 from Maddisyn Miller. Meloni Miller added six and Sierra Piland had five.
CLASS 3A
Delta swept Coal Ridge behind strong play from upperclassmen. Junior Ellie Ames led the Panthers with six kills, while seniors Kaelynn Porter, Erika Kuta and Kayla Miller had five kills apiece.
North Fork dropped its first two matches in a tournament but closed out the trip with a 2-0 win over Dawson School. Kacie Hollembeak finished with six kills and five aces.
Cedaredge defeated Gunnison 3-1 to improve to 5-4.
CLASS 4A
Palisade defeated a trio of opponents to open Western Slope League play. The Bulldogs swept Summit and Battle Mountain before defeating Eagle Valley 3-1.
Palisade allowed no more than 20 points across the first six sets. Against the Devils, the Bulldogs dropped the first set before winning the next three to close out the victory.
Montrose finished 2-2 in tournament play, with losses to Legend and Ralston Valley, and wins over Coronado and Bayfield. Seniors Kelsey Rocco and Madisen Matoush paced the Indians’ play across the weekend.
Eagle Valley defeated Glenwood Springs 3-1, led by a balanced attack from four players: Emily Hinchliffe, Kylee Hughes, Talia Crawford and Evie Geddes-Boyd.
SOFTBALL
After dropping its first six games of the season, Meeker rebounded with road doubleheader sweeps of Delta and Aspen.
The Cowboys defeated the Panthers 12-10 and 9-6. In the first game, Meeker had eight stolen bases and used that pressure to secure victory. In the second game, senior Hailey Knowles had a complete-game performance in the circle. She finished with 11 strikeouts and only three walks across seven innings.
The next day, Meeker upended the Skiers 22-2 and 17-1. The Cowboys drew 25 walks across the doubleheader.
CLASS 4A
Eagle Valley won a 24-23 shootout against Cederedge. The teams combined for more than 60 hits.
Montrose finished 2-1 in tournament play with a 17-0 win over James Irwin and 15-0 win over Mountain View before falling 16-0 to Air Academy.
BOYS SOCCER
Vail Mountain handed Coal Ridge its first defeat of the season in a 2-0 match.
Sebastian Kohlhofer and Nick Kirkwood had goals for the Gore Rangers, who remain undefeated after a 2-0 win over 5A Fruita Monument. It was Kohlhofer and Kirkwood who found the net against the Wildcats as well.
CLASS 4A
Montrose earned a pair of victories against Front Range opponents, beating Doherty 3-2 and Pueblo South 4-1. In the first game, the Indians were tied 1-1 at half before pulling away. In the second game, Montrose scored twice in each half.
