A devastating loss in the state semifinals last season is all the fuel the Basalt High School football team needs entering this fall.

Now, with seven starters back on either side of the ball, it’s about finishing the job.

“I feel like this is the hungriest we’ve ever been,” senior running back and defensive back Will Tarallo said ahead of Tuesday’s practice. “We were right on the edge last year. I feel more than discouraging us, it made us the hungriest we’ve ever been. All these boys know what it takes to be at that position and how to go even farther this year.”

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The Longhorns open the 2025 football season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. non-league game at Arvada. BHS — ranked preseason No. 6 in Class 2A by the coaches at CHSAANow.com — is coming off arguably the best season in program history. It began with an undefeated regular season (9-0), and two convincing playoff wins — beating The Academy and Sterling — before a 41-28 loss to The Classical Academy in the 2A semis.

TCA went on to beat Wellington in the 2A title game, 42-36.

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“We are ready. Our offense looks good. We lost a couple players last year and we filled them in with some younger kids and they are looking really good right now. Defense looks strong,” BHS senior receiver and linebacker Dylan Johnston said. “Mentality this year is we are going all the way. That’s what we want.”

Here are some more notes as the Longhorns get the season underway.

Maintaining the Will-power

Replacing star tailback and linebacker William Daniel will be the greatest challenge facing Basalt this fall, but Tarallo has at least the first part of that covered.

Daniel, who now plays for NCAA Division III Bethel University in Minnesota, rushed for a team-high 1,390 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2024 en route to being a first-team all-state selection in 2A. He was the thunder to Tarallo’s lightning, although the latter isn’t too worried about replacing Daniel’s on-field productivity.

Replacing his leadership is a bigger challenge.

“I have my other boys out here, but I definitely miss Will. He left a big leadership role to fill out here on the field,” Tarallo said. “I was excited to take that position for the team. I do it in my own way and the best I can.”

Tarallo isn’t exactly an unknown commodity for Longhorn fans, having surpassed 1,000 yards rushing as both a sophomore and junior despite largely playing behind Daniel. In 2024, he rushed for 1,223 yards and 15 scores in his back-up role and claims to be even faster as he enters his senior season.

“I’m quicker on my feet and got more muscle in my legs,” he said. “I cut down from what I was (in weight), trying to work on my speed and agility more, more than my strength, because I feel that’s who I am, the lightning.”

Where’s the beef?

A key reason for Tarallo’s excitement is the fact that BHS returns four of its six big men up front, if you include the tight end. And they do mean big.

“This will be a unique year where when our kids get off the bus, we have true size,” longtime BHS coach Carl Frerichs said. “We are pretty darn big up front. Almost everyone up front is over 200 (pounds) — a lot of 6-2, 6-3 kids. We are really excited to let those guys go.”

Notable losses along the line include 2024 first-team all-state Kody Barton and second-teamer Owen Lindt, not to mention Daniel, who led the team in tackles from his linebacker spot. But the returning cupboard isn’t empty, led by junior lineman Connor Anthes, who is listed as being 6-foot-1 and 265 pounds; he was honorable mention all-state a season ago.

“These offensive linemen, defensive linemen, have been putting in work for so long over the summer, eating so much food,” Tarallo said. “We got them boys big. I’m really excited, honestly. There is a lot of potential for these boys to fill.”

A stronger arm

Returning at quarterback is senior Karson Schneider, who was an honorable mention all-state pick in 2024. As a junior, he threw for 1,302 yards and 20 touchdowns with only six interceptions in a run-happy offense.

“We put a lot on his shoulders last year, but I think it’s something we can even do more this year, is really have trust in him with who he is as a kid and who he is as a football player,” Frerichs said of Schneider. “He’s so smart out there, he makes his reads, he’s done an amazing job leading us in the offseason. I’m really excited for him.”

So is Johnston, who also has big shoes to fill at receiver. Last year’s star wideout, Taylor Hays, is now playing at DIII Nebraska Wesleyan University, and it will be Johnston who looks to fill that void. Hays had 31 catches for 552 yards with 12 touchdowns last season, which is a lot of production to make up for.

Having a bigger, better quarterback throwing him passes gives Johnston plenty of confidence, however.

“He’s grown a lot and he’s going to be a lot better this year than he was last year,” Johnston said. “He trained in the offseason, and he’s got a stronger arm. He’s got more power and he’s more calm in the pocket.”

Still in charge

For Frerichs, this will be his 18^th season as Basalt’s head coach, not including the five years he spent as an assistant prior to taking over the program.

“As we were talking about yesterday in practice, you keep doing this because you enjoy the kids and I think we are really lucky in Basalt to have the kids we have and the families we have,” he said. “That’s the real part of coaching I enjoy.”

The highlight of his offseason was getting the chance to meet Denver Broncos legend John Elway, who was the keynote speaker at a National Football Foundation event in April that included Daniel and Aspen High School’s Henry Hurd, who now plays for Brown University.

Frerichs is a diehard Broncos fans, so meeting Elway meant a lot.

“Getting that opportunity to meet him in person and the character of William and what he did for our community is a really special thing,” he reflected. “I’m also really excited for these kids to have the opportunity to lead us in the same direction. Tradition is huge and when you have kids who work really hard and do the right thing and buy into the program, it carries over.”

A familiar foe

Basalt also opened its 2024 season against Arvada, an easy 40-8 win on the BHS field. But Frerichs expects a more mature, tougher opponent come this Saturday.

“We have a pretty good feel for what they are as a team and a coaching staff,” he said. “They were really young last year, so I think they are going to be a year older, a year bigger.”

Arvada, which isn’t receiving any votes to be ranked in the preseason 2A poll, finished 1-8 a season ago after going 6-3 in 2023.

Basalt will then have a short week, as BHS will host Evergreen on Friday, Aug. 29, in its home opener. Regional rival Rifle comes to Basalt on Sept. 5, before the Longhorns play at Glenwood Springs on Sept. 12 and travel to Teton on Sept. 19.

League play begins Oct. 3 by hosting preseason No. 7 Delta. After back-to-back road games at Coal Ridge (Oct. 9) and Moffat County (Oct. 17), the Longhorns close out the regular season at Aspen on Halloween. BHS only has three home games this fall.

“Since January, these kids have been focused on this fall, giving everything they possibly have. We return seven starters on both sides of the ball, and I’m really excited for some other kids to step up with bigger roles or bigger opportunities,” Frerichs said. “I’m excited for Saturday, for them to show off all this hard work.”

The Skiers, under new head coach Bryce Sandoval, don’t open their season until playing at Grand Valley on Friday, Aug. 29.

acolbert@aspentimes.com