Football: Glenwood topples Montezuma-Cortez, 27-12; Coal Ridge wins at Salida
A long road trip to the southwestern-most part of Colorado Friday night resulted in a sluggish start for the Glenwood Springs High School football team.
But the Demons recovered in the second half following some senior inspiration in the halftime locker room to win the all-important conference matchup, 27-12, over Montezuma-Cortez.
The Demons struck first on a third-and-seven play from the 14 yard line in the first quarter when senior Garrett Dollahan carried it in for the touchdown.
A missed extra point for Glenwood would be matched in the second quarter when Montezuma-Cortez also scored a touchdown but missed the bonus point.;
Tied 6-6 at the half, the Demons coaching staff ordered up some adjustments and a senior pep talk in the locker room sparked a fire in the second half.
“The first half was a real battle, as Cortez played well and we seemed to show the effects of six hours worth of travel,” said Glenwood Springs head coach Patrick Engle, who credited his veteran core for turning the tide.
“We left the locker room on a senior lead mission to get after it, and that’s what we did,” Engle said.
Junior Ray Rosenmerkel got things rolling in the third when he took the hand-off from the Demons’ own 25 and busted loose for a 75-yard touchdown run to make it 13-6 after the extra point.
Junior Blake Nieslanik then scored on a 16-yard run to make it 19-6, but the Demons’ two-point conversion attempt failed.
In the fourth, it was sophomore Brody Porter scoring on a 2-yard run. This time, the two-point conversion pass from junior quarterback Evan Heyl to senior Wheatley Nieslanik was true, putting the Demons up 27-6.
The Panthers would score another touchdown later in the fourth, but Glenwood held on for the win to go 2-0 on the season and keep pace with Rifle and Basalt in the 3A West standings.
Dollahan would finish with 139 yards rushing on the night, and the Demons as a team racked up 310 yards on the ground and 23 in the air.
Next up, Glenwood hosts Coal Ridge in an important 3A league matchup at 7 p.m. Friday at Stubler Memorial Field.
Coal Ridge 29, Salida 0
Playing on the road at Salida on Saturday afternoon, Coal Ridge came away with a shutout win over the Spartans to improve to 1-1 on the season.
The Titans scored on a rushing touchdown with 9 minutes to go in the first quarter and made the extra-point kick to take a 7-0 lead.
Neither team would score again until the fourth quarter when Coal Ridge exploded for 22 points, including one touchdown on the ground and a passing TD, plus a safety and a pick-6 from the Titans defense.
In 2A West action Saturday afternoon, it was Manitou Springs over visiting Grand Valley in a close one, 10-9, while top-ranked Buena Vista had little problem with visiting Roaring Fork, winning 44-0 over the Rams.
Roaring Fork (0-2) has its home opener against Manitou Springs at 1 p.m. Saturday, while Grand Valley (1-1) is at Buena Vista the same day.
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