YOUR AD HERE »

Cardinals fall just short of Skiers in Homecoming matchup

Grand Valley junior running back Jonathan Pena races around left end during Friday's game in Parachute against the Aspen Skiers. (LYNN SHORE)
Lynn J Shore – Photographist |

A ill-timed lighting delay and an ensuing goal line stop by the visiting Aspen Skiers ended any hopes at a Homecoming upset for the host Grand Valley Cardinals Friday evening in Parachute in a 30-26 loss.

With the Cardinals driving midway through the fourth quarter into Skier territory at the Aspen 10-yard line, lighting strikes moved into the area, forcing the two teams off the field until the skies cleared. Following a 30-plus minute delay in Parachute, the two teams came back onto the field with Grand Valley in the red zone. Unfortunately, the high-powered Cardinal attack couldn’t find the end zone, giving the ball back to Aspen, who was able to hang on for the win in a fast-paced, back-and-forth game.

“I definitely felt like it [lightning delay] was a momentum killer,” Grand Valley head coach Tim Lenard said. “We needed to come out of the locker room and execute down there near the goal line, but hats off to Aspen; they executed better than we did and made some great plays keeping us out of there. I don’t want to sound like we lost because of the delay, because that’s not the reason why. We should have gotten the ball into the end zone there, but I’m just very proud of our kids.”



Coming into the game, Grand Valley’s focus defensively was on the vaunted Aspen passing attack, but in the first eight plays of the game Grand Valley forced three turnovers, highlighted by an interception from senior Jeff Holbrook and one by senior Laytham Magana off of Aspen quarterback RJ Peshek. However, the Cardinals couldn’t completely take advantage of the three turnovers, scoring just one touchdown — a 21-yard scamper by junior running back Jonathan Pena — to take an 8-0 lead after a 2-point conversion from Holbrook.

Following its third turnover of the first quarter, the Aspen offense righted itself, driving 76 yards in seven plays as Peshek found Jordan Hornburg down the middle of the field for 28 yards before then finding Noah Hollander for 17 yards, knotting the game at 8-8 with three minutes to go in the first quarter.



With the passing game in gear on the road, the Aspen defense tightened up to close the first quarter, forcing a three-and-out from the Cardinals, giving the ball right back to the Skiers’ offense.

Ten plays later Peshek found Max Ufkes for a 4-yard touchdown on a slant route, giving the Skiers a 16-8 lead.

Looking to get back on track offensively, the Cardinals responded to the Skiers’ touchdown with a 13-play drive, marching all the way to the Aspen 31 yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Three plays after the turnover on downs, Aspen found the end zone again as Peshek found Ufkes deep behind the Grand Valley secondary for a 45-yard strike, extending the Aspen lead to 22-8 with 3:42 remaining in the first half.

Not to be outdone though, the Cardinals roared right back, marching 56 yards in four plays following a great kickoff return from freshman Jaden Jordan. Hobrook kept the ball on a read-option, racing 30 yards up the middle of the Aspen defense for the score, pulling the Cardinals to within eight points at 22-14 right before the half.

Receving the ball to start the second half, Grand Valley kept rolling offensively as Holbrook scampered 68 yards down the left sideline, pulling the Cardinals to within two points — 22-20 — following a failed 2-point conversion.

Riding the momentum wave in the second half, Grand Valley’s defense stood tall on Aspen’s first offensive possession of the second half, forcing a punt back to the red-hot Cardinal offense.

Three plays later, Grand Valley struck again as Holbrook weaved from the right sideline back across the field to the left sideline, outrunning the Aspen defense for a 37-yard touchdown to put Grand Valley up 26-22 just over four minutes into the third quarter.

But sticking with the high-scoring display on the night, Aspen struck right back as Peshek found Ufkes for a 58-yard touchdown down the middle of the field before converting the 2-point conversion to give Aspen a 30-26 lead midway through the third quarter.

That would be it for the scoring on night though despite Grand Valley driving all the way to the Aspen 4-yard line following the lightning delay before the Skier defense tightened up, giving Aspen a big road win in a thrilling offensive matchup in Parachute.

On the night, Peshek threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns to go along with two interceptions, while Holbrook matched his counterpart, albeit in a different way, rushing for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

“He [Holbrook] made some good decisions with the ball tonight,” Lenard said. “When things broke down, he looked to make plays, and he’s a competitor. He really wanted to win tonight’s game, as everyone on this team did, but I’m just proud of all the kids’ effort tonight. They fought hard, but we just came up short.”

With the loss, Grand Valley falls to 2-2 on the season. The Cardinals will be on the road next Friday for a matchup with the Olathe Pirates at 7 p.m.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.