Rain, snow and freezing-cold temperatures didn’t slow Rifle’s red hot ground game Friday night as they steamrolled over Aspen 56-14 at home.

Without wasting too much after kickoff, the Bears would punch the Skiers in the mouth via a 12-yard rushing touchdown by junior Toto Fletchall at the 9:47 mark. Less than three minutes later, Bears senior Kaden Wolf would turn his jets up field for an 11-yard rushing score. Following a good point-after kick, Rifle controlled a 14-0 lead.

Toward the latter stages of the first quarter, Bears senior Embrey Marantino would nab his first touchdown of the game with a nice dash across the goal line.

Up 21-0, this time the Bears’ defense would capture the spotlight with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Junior Broc Caldwell would intercept a pass from junior Aspen starting quarterback Nate Thomas.

The pick eventually set up junior Bears starting quarterback Gavin Peterson for a rushing touchdown in the closing seconds of the first quarter. A successful point-after attempt placed the Bears up 28-0.

The Skiers would see their first score of the game in the opening minutes of the second quarter. After marching downfield, Aspen’s Brady Haisfield would cross the plane with a 20-yard rush. Following a successful 2-point conversion, the Skiers went into halftime down 28-8.

Back in third-quarter action, Wolf would put the Bears in good field position after a huge run to Aspen’s 25-yard line from the Bears’ own 45. Two plays later, Wolf put on the jets and ran it in for a long touchdown at the 10:51 mark — his second of the night. After a successful point-after, Rifle went up 35-8.

A couple minutes later, Fletchall notched his second score of the game with a 25-yard sprint up the sidelines. Up 42-8, the Bears would eventually record two more touchdowns on the night.

Aspen, meanwhile, managed to score one more touchdown in the 7:34 mark of the third quarter. The six points, however, would prove not enough to prime the engines for a possible comeback.

With the win, Rifle sits at 2-0 overall as they head to Basalt to take on the Longhorns (1-0 overall) at 1 p.m. April 3. Aspen (0-2 overall) hosts Montezuma-Cortez at 7 p.m. April 2.

Also Friday night, the Glenwood Springs Demons were 27-12 victors on the road at Montezuma-Cortez. Game details were not immediately available.

rerku@postindependent.com