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EAGLE-VAIL - Rifle's first drive Friday night told the story of its game at Battle Mountain.
The Bears marched 81 yards on 15 plays - all on the ground - for a touchdown at Phelan Field in Eagle-Vail. Though the Huskies managed to hold Rifle to only that score for the entire first half, the Bears' rushing game dominated all evening in a 32-0 win that spoiled Battle Mountain's homecoming
In the process, Rifle (4-0 in the 3A Western Slope) not only put Battle Mountain (3-2 and 4-2 overall) in the rear-view mirror, but got a big lift from the evening's shocker - Glenwood Springs 25, Palisade 18 - in the league title chase.
"It's great to win any time in our league," Rifle head coach Damon Wells said. "Second, it's a big win because it's not like Battle Mountain's been beating up on slouches, either. We knew Battle Mountain was for real."
Battle Mountain isn't an easy win on anybody's schedule, but Rifle, the state champion two years ago, and runner-up last year, dominated from start to finish.
"They did a great job," Huskies coach Pat Engle said. "They certainly outplayed us, probably outcoached us. ... They were better tonight. We didn't really have any answer to their run game. It seemed like every time we got a break we would either not capitalize or turn over the ball. Just a bad night. Good for them. They won."
Bears running back Tyler Thompson returned from a concussion sustained against Glenwood two weeks ago. Thompson showed no ill effects from the injury, rumbling 31 times for 206 yards.
"I felt great," Thompson said. "Everything was great. That was the hardest the line has worked all season. It just feels good."
Thompson and fellow back Colby McFarlin pounded away at the Huskies on the game's first drive, which consumed seven minutes of the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Rebhan called his number from one yard out to give Rifle a 7-0 lead.
Rifle moved the ball well for most of the first half only to be stymied by a fumble and big stand by the Battle Mountain defense toward the end of the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Rifle's defense shut down the Huskies' potent running game headed by Ryan Hedrick, who had entered the game with more than 900 yards on the ground in his team's first five games.
"We knew all about Ryan Hedrick and (Huskies offensive lineman) Mitch Grey," Wells said. "We knew those kids were quality. Our defense played well."
Rifle outgained Battle Mountain, 183-66, in the first half. The Huskies could only muster one drive deep into Bears' territory behind the strength of quarterback Bart Cuomo's passes to Travis Landauer.
The Huskies got to the Bears' 5, but a delay-of-game penalty and a missed 27-yard field goal by Derek Byron halted what momentum Battle Mountain had.
Rifle's rushing attack, which had done everything but put up a bunch of points in the first 24 minutes, broke the game open in the second half.
Houston Martin flew 58 yards on Rifle's second play from the line of scrimmage in the second half for a 13-0 lead. After Battle Mountain's next possession ended on a failed fake punt, Rifle pounded the ball 10 times on the ground - Rebhan threw the ball only one time all evening - for another touchdown with 49.2 seconds left in the third. McFarlin did the honors with a 16-yard scamper.
McFarlin struck again in the fourth quarter from 5 yards, and Daniel Maldonado added a 34-yard TD run to ice the game.
Rifle hosts Palisade Friday in another big game in the Bears' drive for a Slope crown.
"Of all the teams in the Western Slope League we would consider Palisade our rival," Wells said. "We can meet Palisade up in the mountains in the back of a woodshed, and it would be a big game. We hope we can compete."
The Bears marched 81 yards on 15 plays - all on the ground - for a touchdown at Phelan Field in Eagle-Vail. Though the Huskies managed to hold Rifle to only that score for the entire first half, the Bears' rushing game dominated all evening in a 32-0 win that spoiled Battle Mountain's homecoming
In the process, Rifle (4-0 in the 3A Western Slope) not only put Battle Mountain (3-2 and 4-2 overall) in the rear-view mirror, but got a big lift from the evening's shocker - Glenwood Springs 25, Palisade 18 - in the league title chase.
"It's great to win any time in our league," Rifle head coach Damon Wells said. "Second, it's a big win because it's not like Battle Mountain's been beating up on slouches, either. We knew Battle Mountain was for real."
Battle Mountain isn't an easy win on anybody's schedule, but Rifle, the state champion two years ago, and runner-up last year, dominated from start to finish.
"They did a great job," Huskies coach Pat Engle said. "They certainly outplayed us, probably outcoached us. ... They were better tonight. We didn't really have any answer to their run game. It seemed like every time we got a break we would either not capitalize or turn over the ball. Just a bad night. Good for them. They won."
Bears running back Tyler Thompson returned from a concussion sustained against Glenwood two weeks ago. Thompson showed no ill effects from the injury, rumbling 31 times for 206 yards.
"I felt great," Thompson said. "Everything was great. That was the hardest the line has worked all season. It just feels good."
Thompson and fellow back Colby McFarlin pounded away at the Huskies on the game's first drive, which consumed seven minutes of the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Rebhan called his number from one yard out to give Rifle a 7-0 lead.
Rifle moved the ball well for most of the first half only to be stymied by a fumble and big stand by the Battle Mountain defense toward the end of the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Rifle's defense shut down the Huskies' potent running game headed by Ryan Hedrick, who had entered the game with more than 900 yards on the ground in his team's first five games.
"We knew all about Ryan Hedrick and (Huskies offensive lineman) Mitch Grey," Wells said. "We knew those kids were quality. Our defense played well."
Rifle outgained Battle Mountain, 183-66, in the first half. The Huskies could only muster one drive deep into Bears' territory behind the strength of quarterback Bart Cuomo's passes to Travis Landauer.
The Huskies got to the Bears' 5, but a delay-of-game penalty and a missed 27-yard field goal by Derek Byron halted what momentum Battle Mountain had.
Rifle's rushing attack, which had done everything but put up a bunch of points in the first 24 minutes, broke the game open in the second half.
Houston Martin flew 58 yards on Rifle's second play from the line of scrimmage in the second half for a 13-0 lead. After Battle Mountain's next possession ended on a failed fake punt, Rifle pounded the ball 10 times on the ground - Rebhan threw the ball only one time all evening - for another touchdown with 49.2 seconds left in the third. McFarlin did the honors with a 16-yard scamper.
McFarlin struck again in the fourth quarter from 5 yards, and Daniel Maldonado added a 34-yard TD run to ice the game.
Rifle hosts Palisade Friday in another big game in the Bears' drive for a Slope crown.
"Of all the teams in the Western Slope League we would consider Palisade our rival," Wells said. "We can meet Palisade up in the mountains in the back of a woodshed, and it would be a big game. We hope we can compete."
