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Craig Middle School volleyball dominates districts

Bulldog football takes losses in Rifle to finish season

Andy Bockelman
Players and coaches of the Craig Middle School seventh-grade volleyball program can't contain their excitement following the district tournament in Meeker. Seventh-grade A-Team won the tourney with a 15-14 final set against Meeker, while B-Team finished second. The eighth-grade B-Team also won its brackets, while eighth-grade A-Team was 0-2.
Courtesy Photo

Craig Middle SchoolCraig Middle School fall sports are officially finished, with Bulldog volleyball and football finding some varied results in the their last weekend on the road. fall sports are officially finished, with Bulldog volleyball and football finding some varied results in the their last weekend on the road.

Craig Middle School fall sports are officially finished, with Bulldog volleyball and football finding some varied results in the their last weekend on the road.

Of the four CMS volleyball teams, two came home from Meeker’s Saturday district tournament with a championship, seventh-grade A-Team and eighth-grade B-Team each taking the top honor of the tourney.

The final set couldn’t have been more nerve-wracking for coaches Bre Ford and Jessica Profumo, as their top-flight seventh-graders went into the third of a best-of-three scenario with Meeker. The Bulldogs trailed, 14-13, and the match point intensity was palpable.



Ultimately, CMS girls caught up and overtook their opponents, ending the event with an ace on the serve by Olivia Profumo, much to the delight of her mother and coach.

“Everybody was screaming and crying, coaches and players, there were a lot of cheers, and we’re definitely proud of how they fought for that one,” Jessica said. “For me, it was kind of unreal, too good to be true.”



Games weren’t nearly as close for the eighth-graders, B-Team sweeping past Meeker and Steamboat Springs for the 2-0 day.

“They were ecstatic,” smiled Kimberly Heater, who coaches the eighth-grade with Jim Croal. “They were struggling at first, but they really pulled it out, had great teamwork.”

The rest of the tournament saw eighth-grade A-Team go 0-2 against Rangely and Steamboat to finish fourth, while seventh-grade B-Team was 1-1, falling to Meeker in the championship round and placing second.

Also traveling Saturday was the CMS gridiron gang, playing a season ender at Rifle. For the fifth game in a row, seventh-grade had 6-0 on the scoreboard, this time on the wrong side of it, finishing their year with a defeat to the Cubs to go 3-5.

However, numbers alone don’t sum up the spirit, said coach Ben Egger.

“Countless players improved and grew as both players and people. I witnessed a group of boys become brothers over the course of the season,” he said. “We learned a lot as a team and I have no doubt that with those men’s work ethic, they will continue to be a great team in the future.”

The eighth-graders also struggled in Rifle, finishing 2-6 after a 30-6 loss. With the Cubs taking control right away, the name of the game was “playing catch-up” said assistant coach Bryce Smith.

“We had a pretty rough start,” he said. “We’ve had kind of a history of when the other team gets up or we make a mistake, our heads go down, our confidence goes down, it makes it kind of hard to come back.”

Chris Sanderson scored the last Bulldog touchdown of the year, but there will be more to come as the older set of Bulldogs get ready for Moffat County High School, said head coach Tony Maneotis.

“Moving to the Power I, it really helped the kids understand what they need to do, but as far as fundamentals, they really picked it up and got after it,” he said, adding that players are already looking forward to playing under MCHS coach Keith Gille. “He’s got a great group of kids coming up there.”

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com or follow him on Twitter @CDP_Sports.Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com or follow him on Twitter @CDP_Sports.


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