The Rifle Bears varsity softball team is back and banging the ball all over the yard.

The Lady Bears have jumped out to a 3-1 record through their first four games, and have been dominating opposing teams offensively. 

The girls have already plated nearly 50 runs through their first four matches, while allowing less than 15 to cross the plate. 

Their domination has included two home butcherings — beating the Mullen Mustangs 15-3 and the Battle Mountain Huskies 16-0. After dropping their first game of the season 3-2 to the Grand Junction Tigers, the Bears look to get back into the win column during their first road games.

The girls travel to Montrose on Saturday morning for a doubleheader against the Montrose Red-Tailed Hawks. 

As fall sports fall into routine, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with the weekly scores and games. Here are how teams are faring in the preps world and what to look forward to through Labor Day weekend. 

Football

The Glenwood Springs Demons kicked off their season at home against the Elizabeth Cardinals last Friday, falling just short in a defensive slugfest. The Demons, who showed impressive resilience after a 17-point first-half, couldn’t complete the comeback as they fell on opening night 23-14. 

The Demons will travel to Summit on Saturday afternoon to participate in the Tigers season-opening festivities. They hope to limit Summit’s momentum out of the gate and breach the win column for the first time of the 2025-26 season. 

The Rifle Bears will host their first game of the season after falling to the Golden Demons in an offensive shootout on the road last week 30-20. Senior Bears quarterback Alex Gonzalez impressed by throwing for over 150 yards and throwing and running for two touchdowns, but he was out-dueled by the Golden quarterback who threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Bears will host the Grand Junction Tigers, who will open their season in Rifle on Friday night. The Bears will look to get the Tigers started on a similar page as they did and look to send the Friday night home crowd happy with the first Bears win of the 2025-26 season. 

The Coal Ridge Titans look to get into the win column for the first time of the season after opening their 2025-26 campaign at home against Steamboat Springs on Aug. 22. The Titans weren’t able to open the season they way they hoped — falling 39-16 on opening night to the Sailors. The Titans have a week off to prepare for their second game of the season when they host the Cedaredge Bruins on Sept. 5.

The Grand Valley Cardinals will open their season against the Aspen Skiers at home on Friday night as the 1A/2A Western Slope League is set to get underway. Both teams will kick off their 2025-26 campaign on Friday night and hope to get started on the right note. 

Cross Country

The Glenwood Springs Demons, Coal Ridge Titans and Grand Valley Cardinals will kick off their cross country season at the Grand Mesa County Line Trailhead on Saturday morning. 

Hosted by Cedaredge, teams will travel to the top of Grand Mesa at 10,800 feet elevation in the highest-elevation cross country meet in the state. 

The nordic ski trails will be the site for the high school cross country meet as the Garfield County schools will face off against other Western Slope schools like Olathe, North Fork, Delta, Caprock and more. 

Boys Soccer

Editor’s Note: The Rifle Bears faced off against the Montrose Red-Tailed Hawks in Montrose on Thursday night. The final score was not available before print deadline. 

Fall prep sports on the Western Slope are highlighted by the incredible soccer talent seen throughout every Garfield County school. The 2024 CHSAA state playoff tournament brackets were littered with Western Slope teams, and the semi-finals couldn’t be decided without having at least one Garfield County representative.

The Coal Ridge Titans are hosting a tournament over Labor Day weekend to kick off the 2025 boys soccer preps season. Teams all over the Western Slope will travel to the New Castle high school to participate in the two-day tournament.

The 0-1 Glenwood Demons will kick off the tournament at Coal Ridge against the 2-1 Telluride Miners on Friday afternoon. The Demons, who kicked off their season on the road against the Eagle Valley Demons, fell 2-0 in their season opener. The schedule then shifts to the home team taking the pitch against the Frontier Academy Wolverines. The Titans, yet to play a game yet, will look to kick off the season on the right foot against the Wolverines. 

The winners of the two Friday games will face off against each other for the championship on Saturday morning at 10 a.m., while the other two teams will face off at 12 p.m..

Roaring Fork, who fell 2-0 to Crested Butte in their season opener on Aug. 22, have the Labor Day weekend off. After an extended break, the Rams will have to lock in before a tense Highway 82 rivalry matchup. They will welcome the Basalt Longhorns onto their home pitch on Wednesday, Sept. 3 as they look for their first win of the season. 

Girls Volleyball

Editor’s note: The Glenwood Springs Demons and Roaring Fork Rams varsity Girls Volleyball teams both competed on Thursday night. The Demons traveled to Basalt High School to face the Longhorns while the Rams traveled to North Fork to face the Miners. Results weren’t available by print deadline. 

The Roaring Fork Rams girls volleyball team hasn’t gotten out to the start they would have wanted. The Rams have dropped their first five matchups of the season, but the girls still have over 15 games remaining on their schedule and the season isn’t close to being decided. After their Thursday night away matchup with North Fork, the girls will host the Vail Mountain Rangers on Tuesday. 

The Glenwood Springs Demons have had a more stable start to their volleyball season. The Demons hosted the Roaring Fork Rams and Meeker Cowboys on Aug. 22, taking both matchups 2-0. The Demons’ first loss came at home against the Mullen Mustangs the next day. After they face the Longhorns on Thursday night, the Demons will travel to Cherry Creek to face the St Mary’s Academy Wildcats on Sept. 6. 

The Coal Ridge Titans are flipping the script of the one from a year prior. They kicked off their season 3-1 through their first four matchups before falling 3-0 to the strong Grand Junction Tigers team — contrasting their 1-4 start from a season prior. The girls will host the Gunnison Cowboys on Saturday in their first 3A Western Slope League matchup of the season. 

After stumbling out of the gate with a 1-4 start, the Grand Valley Cardinals girls volleyball team will look to right the ship on Saturday in Rangely. The Cardinals and Panthers will face off for the second time this season. The Panthers got the better of the Cardinals in their first matchup of the season 2-0, supplying Grand Valley with extra motivation before the Western Slope contest.