In a storyline ripped straight from the popular TV show “Friday Night Lights,” Roaring Fork High School made the heart-rending decision to suspend its varsity football lineup, paving the way for six of its brightest stars to dawn the colors of Glenwood Springs High School.

Roaring Fork High, however, will continue to compete at the junior varisty level. Glenwood Springs Head Coach Hunter Holmes saw the silver lining in this unforeseen twist. 

“It’s not very often that you get to add six players to your team who are able to make an immediate impact,” Holmes said. “To add these extremely talented football players truly is a blessing.”

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The timing couldn’t be more impeccable for the Glenwood team, especially after their challenging game against Aspen.

“Last week against Aspen, we started dropping like flies out there,” Holmes recounted. “To be able to have these reinforcements, who are not just backups but really good football players, is going to benefit our program in a lot of ways.”

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The ensemble cast joining Glenwood is a mix of experience and budding talent: junior Hunter Noll, sophomore Zack Bollock, senior stalwarts Max Bollock, Nick Smith and Brooks Chatman, and junior Balaram Koss.

Noll likened the shift to an emotional rollercoaster ride. 

“There were definitely a lot of emotions when the news came out,” Noll said. “Especially for the coaches and players who have been here for so many years and helped build this program, it was an emotional day for us.”

The choice for Roaring Fork players looking to continue their varsity careers: to align with Glenwood Springs or join their age-old rivals at Basalt.

For Eric Bollock, the transition holds a weight of sentiment. The former head coach of Roaring Fork, now the wide receivers coach at Glenwood Springs, found the switch deeply personal. 

“I officially resigned from Roaring Fork Thursday and I have been asked to be the wide receivers coach at Glenwood,” Bollock revealed. “It was an extremely tough decision to make because I have been working to rebuild this program for the past 10 years.”

Yet, in this merger, Bollock sees a bigger picture. 

“The Roaring Fork program isn’t done,” he said. “We have extremely strong numbers at the lower levels this year. This isn’t a major setback for this program, I just felt this was the best decision for this season.” 

For Noll, the initial practices with Glenwood felt like a smooth transition. 

“It has been really good so far,” Noll said. “I have played with Joaquin (Sandoval) for a long time, so it hasn’t been hard to be able to click.” 

But Noll also acknowledged a shift in atmosphere 

“There is a culture in Glenwood that feels a lot different than Roaring Fork,” he said. “It feels like it matters more here.”

While the question remains whether Max Bollock, formerly Roaring Fork’s leading quarterback, or Glenwood’s Joaquin Sandoval vie for the primary quarterback spot, the team’s spirit remains united.

“We are a merged team now, so let’s tackle this thing together,” Coach Bollock said. “With the staff and the team that this situation has created, I think we have the chance to be a great and dominant team.”

Glenwood Springs junior running back Mason Markovich summed up the squad’s sentiment. 

“Our expectation this season has been to really succeed in the playoffs,” he said. “Adding this talent only helps us exceed the expectations we already had for ourselves.”

The Glenwood Springs Demons are set to host the Grand Junction Tigers at Stubler Memorial Field, 7 p.m. Friday.