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Demons can’t get it into gear, fall to Bulldogs

Jeff Caspersen
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Kelley Cox Post Independent
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado – Dalton Hannigan couldn’t wait to touch the football again after fumbling it away on Palisade’s first offensive play.

The 5-foot-5, 140-pound running back touched the ball many more times on Friday, atoning for the miscue with a monster night. Hannigan rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, helping the Bulldogs to a 33-7 win at Glenwood Springs.

“We had that first play and I was like, ‘Ahhhh,'” the junior said. “We got a big stop on D and I just wanted to make up for that bad play. I came out and gave everything I had the rest of the game.”



It was Hannigan who picked off a pass that set up Palisade’s first score on its third possession.

A four-play, 55-yard drive followed. The final two plays: a 34-yard scamper by the shifty, elusive Hannigan and a 15-yard TD pass from Luke McLean to Levi Hoagland with 5 minutes, 27 seconds left in the opening quarter.



Palisade made it 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 31-yard scoring run by Hannigan, who absorbed a hit near the line of scrimmage and then zipped up the left sideline and into the end zone with 1:05 into the second quarter.

Glenwood’s deficit swelled to 20-0 on a 16-yard keeper by McLean with 4:14 left in the second quarter. The quarterback started right, then cut back to his left, running laterally for quite a distance before reaching the left corner of the end zone.

Success on offense proved tough to come by for the Demons in the first half. Three drives ended in punts, two on lost fumbles, one on an interception and one on a turnover-on-downs.

It all started in the wake of Hannigan’s early fumble, which gave Glenwood the ball at the Palisade 23. A momentum-sapping three-and-out followed.

“The offense couldn’t produce,” Demons head coach Rocky Whitworth lamented. “We had a little opportunity there to make a difference early in the game and the momentum switched immediately. We just weren’t able to take advantage of the turnover.”

Palisade tacked on two more scores – a 3-yard run by Caden Woods and an 11-yarder by Hannigan – to put the game away in the second half.

Nestled between those two TDs was a 6-yard run for Auston Tribble in the fourth quarter that enabled Glenwood to sidestep the shutout.

“We were prepared,” said Hannigan, whose Bulldogs are currently ranked third in Class 3A according to the latest Denver Post football poll. “It was a rough week of practice, but everybody buckled down and ended up doing what they needed to do this week to get ready for Glenwood.

“All week, Coach A [John Arledge] was saying this is a tough place to play. The fans are right on the sideline and it gets loud. This was a great experience for us, now and to get us ready for later on in the season.”

McLean finished up with 115 yards and a TD on 10-for-11 passing. Woods finished with 62 rushing yards on 12 carries and McLean had 59 yards on six totes. Hoagland caught three passes for 74 yards.

Quarterback Travis Lundin finished with 173 yards and two interceptions on 22-of-36 passing for the Demons, who were much more efficient on offense in the second half. Grant Fegan hauled in six of those passes for a team-leading 72 yards and Derrick Chase ended his night with 75 yards on 11 carries.

On defense, Josh McKee and Kody Fox recovered fumbles for Glenwood.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the 0-2 Demons, who travel to Rifle next week to face the rival Bears, who scored a 45-0 win over Moffat County on Friday. Rifle is Class 3A’s No. 1 team according to the Denver Post poll.

Montezuma-Cortez is up next for 2-0 Palisade, which will host the Panthers next week.

jcaspersen@postindependent.com


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