This year has not been easy for the 1-4 Glenwood Springs football team.

Of the five games it has played, four have been against ranked opponents. The list of opponents includes the who’s who of Western Slope football the past five years. Those opponents — Rifle, Palisade, Alamosa and Class 2A Roaring Fork — have a combined record of 17-4 this season. Those four teams outscored the Demons, 107-16

The Demon’s only win was a 35-6 romp of Delta.

Moffat County hopes to add itself to the list of tough losses for the Demons this year.

“This is a huge game for both teams,” Moffat coach Kip Hafey said. “The loser is going to have a hard time making the playoffs.”

The Demons bring an aggressive defense that sends linebackers from everywhere out of a 3-5 set.

Moffat County players will try to establish the run first, which is something they’ve done well in their victories and not so well in their two losses.

“We have to keep our head up and go because they’re in you’re face fast,” Hafey said. “The good thing is that once you get past their first level, there’s some room to run.”

In their win against Delta, the Demons were able to run the ball. Last week, in their 7-3 loss against Rifle, Glenwood rushed for a net total of five yards.

The Demons try to gain yards with a multi-option running game. They use three running backs with different looks to fake teams out of their shoes. It’s a running game that is similar to Eagle Valley’s.

“If we watch the fakes in the backfield, we’re in trouble,” Hafey said. “The defense has to stay at home and key off of their guards. This game the 9-5-9 philosophy needs to be in effect.”

The Demons have had senior tailback Matt Miller in the backfield some this week. He was the projected starter at the beginning of the year, but an injury relegated him to defense only.

Senior Daniel Mirekey, who has started the previous five games, will also get carries at tailback.

Senior quarterback Eric Lundin has seen varsity time behind center since he was a sophomore. He had some success throwing the ball against Rifle, 8-10 for more than 100 yards.

Hafey is 3-0 against the Demons, but they’ve always been close games. Last year, the Bulldogs trailed 14-0 before coming back for a 33-20 win.

“We’ve been able to keep our composure against them,” Hafey said. “This will be the second time we’ve had them for homecoming, and it’s a hard week to keep focused because of all that’s going on around the team.”

Composure has been something that Hafey has talked to his offense quite a bit this week. He predicts that Glenwood’s defense will guess right with its blitzes at times and make some plays.

“They’ll pick he right hole sometimes,” Hafey said. “What is important for us it to recover the next play and go tight at them.”

Barring an upset with Battle Mountain beating Steamboat Springs or Rifle beating Pal–isade, this is the only game of consequence in the league this week. The loser is virtually eliminated from the playoff hunt. The loser of Friday’s game will need a lot of help from Delta and Battle Mountain, which isn’t too likely.

Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.