Meeker has a shot at the top spot in the 1A Western Slope League after a 30-13 win over North Fork last Friday.
The Cowboys will face Gunnison this Friday in a game that could decide the eventual league champion.
But against the Miners, it was another monster day from Kelton Turner that carried the Cowboys to victory. The senior compiled 256 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries to power an explosive offense. Turner’s season totals of 1,001 yards and 15 touchdowns leads Class 1A.
PHOTO BY DANIELLE BYNUM
Elsewhere in the classification, Luke Maxey scored touchdowns four different ways during Cedaredge’s 39-8 win over Olathe.
The sophomore passed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass, housed a punt return and notched a scoop-and-score following a fumble.
Roaring Fork lost 46-22 to Estes Park and Grand Valley fell 48-0 to No. 3 Florence.
Delta won its third straight game with a 56-0 shellacking of Aspen. Freshman quarterback Ty Reed had six touchdowns — two passing, four rushing — for the Panthers.
Moffat County remained undefeated with a 46-13 win over Rifle. Running back Evan Atkin rumbled for four touchdowns and 106 yards on 19 carries. He also pulled in a receiving touchdown, one of two tossed by quarterback Ryan Peck.
Basalt handled Coal Ridge 48-12, powered by a four-touchdown day from quarterback Kade Schneider.
Steamboat Springs blocked a last-second field goal attempt to hang on for 31-30 victory over Eagle Valley. The win pushes the Sailors’ winning streak to four games.
Steamboat Springs quarterback Jake Hamric completed 23 of 38 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, and added another score on the ground.
Palisade topped Battle Mountain 28-17 thanks to a strong day from Phallen Salvati. The junior was the highlight of the offense with 134 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. He also returned two kicks for a combined 47 yards.
Summit handled Glenwood Springs 41-0 powered by a two-pronged attack. Quarterback Jack Schierholz threw for three touchdowns while running back Alex Sanchez ran for three more.
Top-ranked Montrose didn’t falter under its No. 1 ranking and defeated Heritage 56-12. Freshman quarterback Gage Wareham went 5 for 7 with 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Austin Griffin and Torrie Eckerman added two rushing touchdowns apiece.
Grand Junction Central quarter Devin Hickey threw for one touchdown and ran for another during the Warriors’ 33-17 win over Monarch. Senior William Sfat led the Warriors’ defense with nine tackles — one for loss — and a sack.
Fruita Monument lost to Fountain-Fort Carson 42-28 despite a big performance from Wyatt Sharpe. The sophomore scampered for 161 yards and touchdowns on 28 carries.
Grand Junction fell to Denver South 56-14.
Vail Christian remained undefeated after a 44-0 win over Hayden. Junior Taylor Shull accounted for four touchdowns — two through the air and two on the ground.
Rangely scored 54 points in the first half and cruised to a 62-18 win over Gilpin County. Zane Varner, Alex Black, Kobey Chism and Keihlin Myers all had rushing touchdowns, while Myers and Marstan Wagner connected through the air.
VOLLEYBALL
Fruita Monument completed sweeps of Grand Junction and Delta, making it seven straight matches where the Wildcats haven’t dropped a set. BayLea Sparks and Hayden Murray, a pair of seniors, were strong hitters during the matches.
Montrose swept Grand Junction Central and defeated Eagle Valley 3-2 to push their record to 12-3.
Against Central, freshman Brooke Williams led the way with eight kills and one block.
During the match against Eagle Valley, Madisen Matoush rained down 24 kills and Kelsey Rocco added 15 kills. Taylor Foster chipped in six blocks.
Palisade swept Steamboat Springs, powered by a big performance from freshman Addie Ritterbush. She led the Bulldogs in four categories: kills (12), aces (five), blocks (three) and digs (14).
Glenwood Springs won three league contests over the week, with 3-1 victories over Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley, plus a sweep of Summit.
Miah Suarez led the Demons with 11 kills during the contest against Battle Mountain, while Bailey Winder had four blocks.
Steamboat Springs swept Summit to reach .500.
Delta put up a season-high .271 hitting percentage as a team during a sweep of Grand Valley. Kaelynn Porter led the way with eight kills, Erika Kuta had seven kills, while Kayla Miller and Ellie Ames added six apiece.
Moffat County picked up wins over Caprock Academy and Coal Ridge. The Bulldogs won handily in Grand Junction, with seven different players notching kills.
Against Coal Ridge, narrowly won the first set before dropping the second set. They closed the match out with set victories by larger margins.
Top-ranked Meeker continued its dominant run with sweeps of North Fork and De Beque. The undefeated Cowboys haven’t dropped a set in seven matches and have gone to five sets only once this season. Emma Luce finished with 38 kills for the weekend.
Vail Christian picked up 3-1 victoris over Hayden to extend its winning streak to three games.
Rangely swept out-of-state opponent Manila (Utah).
SOFTBALL
Fruita Monument softball took care of Durango in a doubleheader sweep, where senior Lauren Lee went 5 for 6 with two home runs, a double and nine RBI across two games. The Wildcats won five consecutive games to close out the season.
Palisade scored 62 runs across three games last week, defeating Eagle Valley 18-1, Delta 25-6, and Durango 19-9. The Bulldogs pounded out 59 hits in that span, including nine doubles and four triples.
Montrose split a doubleheader with Grand Junction, dropping the first game 10-9 but winning the second game 11-9.
Rifle won its eighth straight game by defeating Basalt 15-1. Kaylie Stark, Jade Croy and Hailey Worton all had triples for the Bears. Blayke Hostettler picked up the win in the circle, striking out four batters in three innings of work.
Eagle Valley closed out the regular season with a 16-4 win over Cedaredge.
Ava Symanski finished 3 for 3 with a home run, a double and four runs scored.
Regional pairings were also released on Monday with Grand Junction Central earning a home tournament in Class 5A. The Warriors are seeded 7th and will meet Loveland in their first round game. Lakewood and Arapahoe are also in the bracket.
In Class 3A, Meeker is the highest seed at #14 with Delta #23, Gunnison #28 and Cedaredge #31. All will be on the road in round one. Class 4A has Rifle seeded 24th and Palisade 29th and both the Bears and Bulldogs head out on the road this Saturday as well.
BOYS SOCCER
Coal Ridge continued its pursuit of Roaring Fork in the 3A Western Slope League standings with a 6-0 win over Delta.
The Titans exploded for five goals in the second half to secure their third consecutive win.
Rifle defeated Moffat County 8-1, powered by eight different goal scorers. Daniel Carreron, Oscar Cornejo, Javier Salgado, Erick Solano, Fernando Lopez, Luis Mendoza, Yahir Marquez and Eduardo Espino all found the net.
Palisade overcame an early deficit to defeat Glenwood Springs 2-1.
Vail Mountain got goals from Peter Hughes and Sebastian Kohlhofer to defeat Eagle Valley 2-1.
Joseph Scoppa scored the deciding goal in Steamboat Springs’ 1-0 win over Glenwood Springs.
Summit defeated Gunnison 8-0 with Santiago Casco, Alan Casillas and Owen Gallo scoring two goals each.
Matthew Parkes had two goals and two assists for Grand Junction during an 8-1 win over Grand Junction Central.
