First it was Taylor Parsons, then it was Tyler Thulson, then it was Willy Pelland, then it was Nick Ciani, Brian Ochoa, Josh Galvan and so on.

Big hit, huge stop, great tackle, then a pesky pack of Glenwood Springs Demons swarming the ball carrier like he just swiped a grandma's purse.

The defense came to play. They held the Elizabeth Cardinals to just 21 yards offense in the first half and a total of 27 yards rushing for the game.

But the offense was a different, ugly story in the first quarter.

The bounces were going wrong, runners flopped to the slippery turf, receivers dropped passes, punts died in the crisp wind like wounded badminton birdies.

It was sloppy, slippery, slick and downright miserable. But both teams had to deal with it.

In the first quarter, Glenwood was being served a steady dose of bad news.

On two consecutive possessions, the Demons started inside their own 10-yard line. They couldn't move the ball and a ruthless wind was slapping them in the face.

But this is football and the tests come in a variety of forms.

Yes it was cold, windy and slippery but this bunch was not daunted. After all the bad bounces, dropped passes and early mistakes, the Demons could look at the scoreboard and see only a 3-0 deficit.

That was good news.

Glenwood struggled with field possession and lost the turnover battle, 4-1, but still came away with a 24-3 victory.

This is indeed a special team. Unique if you will. But do not compare this team to the 2008 defending state champs. Sure, there are a number of players who played last year. But this is a different team with different stars. Both teams can be called special. Both know how to win and both deal with adversity with a resilient confidence.

The victory over Elizabeth offered a definition of the 2009 Demons. It's a definition that makes coach Rocky Whitworth smile.

“That's what makes this team so neat. They handle and overcome adversity so well. They play hard and are ready to come out and do it again the next week,” the veteran coach says.

And they will be back next week, ready for whatever adversity is served up by an 11-0 Valor Christian team.

On Saturday, at nearly every turn the Demons were faced with adversity in the first half. But they still emerged with the lead. Then they dominated the second half.

It's obvious that this is a tough-minded team. Thulson, who finished with 145 yards and one TD on 28 carries, was still upset with himself for his two fumbles.

“We really played hard, but we made a lot of mistakes. I had two fumbles,” he says, shaking his head.

Are they a blue collar, lunch-bucket team?

It's yet another way to describe them.

They know that adversity will come and they will play hard on every down. They are as resilient as Teflon, and adversity seems to never stick to them.

They make mistakes, then play harder to make up for them. There's no head hanging on this team.

The relentless Thulson is like the Energizer Bunny, and really only slightly larger. At 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, he punishes defenders on offense and runners on defense with his fierce, hard-nosed, fearless style of play.

As does the even smaller Parsons. At 5-6, 140 pounds, the senior was all over the field on Saturday.

Trailing 7-3, Elizabeth intercepted a pass, and Glenwood faced another batch of adversity. But the defense again put up the stop sign.

After Ochoa stuffed a run, Thulson busted through the line for a sack, then Parsons slammed the drive shut with a fourth-down tackle on a fake punt for a loss of 9.

This is a team that accepts adversity as routine, then they work to overcome it.

When a jubilant but exhausted Whitworth walked off the field on Nov. 29, 2008, there was a tremendous satisfaction. The Demons had just capped an undefeated season and a state title with a 23-14 win over Fort Morgan.

“It's so tough [to win a state title], everything has to go your way,” he said then.

And when everything doesn't go your way, that's the ultimate test of a high school football team.

On Saturday, there was a lot of things that went against the Demons, but they passed virtually every test. They are now one of the final eight teams still playing.

Whitworth smiles and says this has been one of his most enjoyable teams he's coached.

After the first round, the Demons remain defending Class 3A state champs.

Against Valor Christian, the Demons will be underdogs, but they won't care.

There will be adversity, but they won't care. This is a bring it on team.

The playoff journey has begun again for the Demons. The playoffs are about survival and they are still alive and playing.

Next week will be a supreme test for this unique team. But that's OK. The 2009 Demons wouldn't have it any other way.