GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Henry Hill coundn’t wipe the smile off his face late Friday night — and it was easy to understand why.

The Glenwood Springs High School senior running back ran rampant against the Evergreen Cougars at Stubler Memorial Field. His offensive line paved the way for him to carry the ball 32 times for 279 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Demons roll past Class 3A’s sixth-ranked team 35-7 in a critical nonleague game.

“We wanted to win. We had to win,” Hill said. “Everyone wanted to win so badly.”

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And it showed, as Glenwood’s rushing game has made a stark turnaround since the Demons opened the season 0-3. During those losses to Conifer, Palisade and Rifle, Glenwood rushed for 190 yards total.

Hill had surpassed that number halfway through the third quarter, helping the Demons roll up 357 yards of total offense and 298 yards on the ground. He also helped Glenwood (5-3 overall) win for the fifth consecutive week in a game that was critical to the Demons’ postseason hopes.

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But ask the Demons, and the postseason began a while back.

“We have been in this situation since the Steamboat Springs game,” Glenwood coach Rocky Whitworth said. “Our playoffs started five weeks ago. We’ve had no room for error and we’ve had no chance to look back. Every game is as important as the last game as well as these two games coming up.

“That’s how it’s been,” the coach continued. “We’ve been in the playoffs since Week 4.”

Evergreen (6-2 overall), which is unbeaten in the Metro West League and has beaten teams like Conifer and D’Evelyn this season, was more effective passing the ball than running it. The Cougars threw for 120 yards and rushed for 30, also turning the ball over four times. Jake Lankutis was the Cougars’ leading rusher, carring three times for 20 yards.

Glenwood struck first, as senior quarterback Travis Lundin hit Chris Sarabia for a 26-yard TD pass to cap a 79-yard drive to open the game. Evergreen, however, knotted the score at 7-all on a 1-yard plunge from Lankutis with 4 minutes, 11 seconds left in the second quarter.

That’s when Hill really got going. He broke off a 41-yard jaunt with 2:30 left before halftime to give the demons a 14-7 halftime leaf after the point-after kick from Robert Hiles. Then he capped the Demons first drive of the second half with a 5-yard TD run after his 58-yard dash early in the drive set up the score.

That was all the Demons would need with their defense performing the way it was. But for good measure, Dante Sparaco added a 3-yard TD run and Hill capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard scoring scamper.

“Every single game we’ve played has been a playoff game ever since the Steamboat game,” Hill said. “So it’s been full bore since then, and we’re not going to let up.”