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Demons run wild on Palisade, 34-21

Joelle MilholmGlenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Post Independent/Kelley Cox
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It was a sea of red, bouncing up and down and singing the Glenwood Demon fight song to a jubilant red and white crowd shouting it right back. The celebration had good reason as the No. 4 Demons knocked off the No. 2 Palisade Bulldogs 34-21 for a homecoming win on Friday night that put Glenwood at an undefeated 6-0 on the season.The matchup was everything the hype promised going into it, a clashing of good teams and big plays.

After Glenwood (4-0 Class 3A Western Slope League) took a 28-6 lead on three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Dakota Stonehouse and another from running back Michael Hudson, it looked like Glenwood had the game in the bag. But with 6:35 left in the third quarter, Palisade (3-1 WSL, 5-2 overall) turned things around, proving it had just begun to fight.On a four-minute drive aided by two Glenwood penalties resulting in first downs, the Bulldogs marched down the field and scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jake Appling to Aaron Wagler. Then Appling hit Billy Logsdon for the 2-point conversion and it was 28-14 with 2:24 remaining in the third.Then the Bulldogs snuck in an onside kick and recovered the ball. Wagler then broke free on a 34-yard run to score a touchdown with 58 seconds to go in the third, and just like that, Glenwood’s lead was trimmed to 28-21.Then, just as they had all game, the Demons answered Palisade’s big play with one of their own. Stonehouse hit Donnie Jennert for a 53-yard bomb on a third-and-almost-30-to-go situation to move Glenwood to Palisade’s 14-yard line. Hudson finished what Stonehouse started, finding the end zone on an 18-yard run to put Glenwood up 34-21 with 11:01 left.

On Palisade’s next possession, Glenwood’s defense stepped up for another big play. Tyler Rossow picked off an Appling pass, getting Glenwood the ball back with 10 minutes left. While Glenwood didn’t strike again on offense, its defense pulled off another stop with less than two minutes left and sealed the deal.”Our defense is the best in the league. That is my personal opinion,” said Glenwood senior wide receiver and defensive star Alex McPherson. “We are fast, we are strong, we make plays. That’s what we do, we make plays. We play with intensity.”McPherson had a sack and a blocked pass in the game, Rossow had an interception and a quarterback sack and the Glenwood D held the Bulldog’s high-powered running offense to 115 yards in the game.”They are so fierce,” coach Rocky Whitworth said of his defense. “They run around the field so well. They make stuff happen. They are just fun to watch. The whole team is fun to watch.”



The Demon offense was just as impressive. Hudson was a horse, carrying the ball 14 times for a whopping 151 yards. Stonehouse, with help from tricky play calling, including reverses, fake pitches and double pitches, finished the game 12-of-17 for 219 yards along with 47 yards rushing and three rushing TDs. “Dakota Stonehouse was the difference. He’s a great athlete. And on offense we probably didn’t move the ball like we should have in the first half,” said Palisade head coach John Arledge. “Our offensive line got frustrated with all of the blitzing and stuff. They took their chances and did a great job.”Players and fans were going wild in the celebration after the game, knowing the win might have been the biggest since the return of Glenwood’s varsity program in 1997.”Our team played perfect. Our offensive line played great, our defense pursued, got numbers and assignments,” McPherson said. “I am excited, senior year, I am enjoying it. We are 6-0 we beat the No. 2 team, they are bigger than us and stronger than us but we were faster and we played a lot harder.”

At Stubler Memorial FieldPalisade06150 21Glenwood014147 34SCORING SUMMARYSecond quarterPAL Aaron Wagler, 2 run (2-pt conversion incomplete), 9:18.GS Dakota Stonehouse, 9 run (Taylor Parsons kick good), 7:40.GS Stonehouse, 1 run (Parsons kick good), 0:45.Third quarterGS Stonehouse, 1 run (Parsons kick good), 6:35.GS Michael Hudson, 23 run (Parsons kick good), 2:24.PAL Wagler 7 pass from Jake Appling (Billy Logsdon 10 pass from Appling for 2-pt conversion), 2:24.PAL Wagler 34 run (Travis Fehlman kick good), 0:58.Fourth quarterGS Hudson 18 run (never got kick off), 11:01GS PALFirst Downs1310Total Yards429173Rushes-yards33-210 41-115Passing 29158Comp-Att-Int12-17-1 7-20-1Punts3-31.8 5-33Fumbles-Lost 0-04-0Penalties-Yards 9-784-27INDIVIDUAL STATSRUSHING Glenwood, Hudson14-151, Stonehouse16-47, Kevin Screen 2-8, Donnie Jennert 1-4. Palisade, Wagler 20-87, Zach Adair 13-25, Travis Fehlman 1-7, Jake Appling 6-(-4), Billy Logsdon 1(-1).PASSING Glenwood, Stonehouse 12-17-1-219. Palisade, Appling 7-20-1-58.RECEIVING Glenwood, Jennert 3-72, Lance Tsosie 3-57, Alex McPherson 3-47, Screen 2-16, Connor Riley 1-19. Palisade, Wagler 3-29, Steaphen Isaac 2-20, Matt Young 2-16, Logsdon 1-14.


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