YOUR AD HERE »

Delta gives Bears a scare; Rifle raillies to stay perfect

Phil Sandoval

RIFLE – When you’re the state’s No. 1 prep football team, every game is a tough game.

Even homecoming.

Jason Enewold passed for two second-half touchdowns and Troy Weiss rushed for 144 of his game-high 209 yards in the final two quarters, lifting Rifle to a 34-6 laugher over Delta after trailing 6-0 at intermission.



“We came out flat and unfocused,” Weiss said of the team’s first-half problems. “Then we took it too them and did what we had to do.”

Which meant extra duty for the junior running back.



Weiss started his yeoman work in the second half’s first series with a 40-yard romp through the Panthers’ defensive backfield.

The run culminated a 5 play, 70-yard touchdown drive that put Rifle (2-0 in conference, 6-0 overall) ahead for good after Kyle Sanderson’s extra point.

Then, after the Bears forced a Delta (0-1, 1-4) punt in four plays, the Bear offense made up for it’s anemic first-half by scoring on its next series.

Weiss’ zig-zag 30-yard beauty around a couple of stunned Delta d-backs set up Anthony Alfini’s 1-yard TD run at the 5:30 mark to go up 13-6.

The rest of the game was all Bears.

Delta quarterback Blake Carlquist, who had given Rifle fits in the first half with 79 multi-purpose yards, was sacked three times in the second half.

And the Panther offense, which had outgained the Bears 120-93 in the first half, added a mere 33 yards to its total the rest of the night.

Defensive coordinator Justin Price said the difference in the team’s performance was it’s attitude.

“We told the guys that the they had to start playing ball,” he said. “We just made sure the kids knew their assignments and they were going to do them.”

“They knew them going in, but they weren’t doing them the correct way. Once they did it, they rose to the occasion.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.