Moffat County volleyball keeps it close in season opener with Steamboat

The first home game for Moffat County High School volleyball may not have been a win, but it was certainly an indicator that the Bulldogs will be feisty competitors this fall.

MCHS faced off Tuesday against their Highway 40 rivals Steamboat Springs, with the Sailors taking the win by 3-0 sweep.

Moffat County girls made the Sailors sweat, with set scores of 25-19 and 25-20.

“I think us missing a few serves and letting them get on small runs hurt us, but it was a great game,” said MoCo coach Becca Sage. “It was really good for their first game this season. I think they’re really gonna climb this year.”

The game was the first for Sage as head coach after being hired earlier this month.

“We’ve really fit in pretty smoothly with her. She’s been really good for us,” Abbe Adams said of her coach.

Adams is one of five seniors on the squad, including Olivia Profumo, Jacie Evenson, Taytum Smercina and Reese Weber.

While the rest of the upperclassmen are in their fourth year, Weber opted to sit out the sport last season.

Even so, she had no problem returning to the floor.

“I was just in the back row, but I don’t mind playing there,” Weber said. “We’ve all been playing together since middle school, so we all want to enjoy it now since it goes by so fast.”

MCHS volleyball next competes this weekend in Oak Creek at a tournament hosted by Soroco.

Moffat County cross country sets pace at Basalt

Moffat County High School cross country teams were officially off and running Saturday with the first race of the season.

MCHS boys placed second and girls eighth among 10 teams at the Basalt Longhorn Invitational, held in El Jebel.

The course’s terrain provided a good start to the fall for Bulldog harriers, with boys in particular seeing positive results with two in the top 10 for the event.

Hayden senior Kale Johnson took seventh among 92 runners with a time of 18:29.8. MoCo sophomore Owen Gifford was only 10 seconds behind his teammate in eighth at 18:39.3.

Boden Reidhead and Ian Trevenen weren’t far behind, placing 11th and 12th, respectively, while fellow junior Forrest Siminoe rounded out the scoring in 49th.

MCHS seniors Emma Jones and Halle Hamilton led the girls roster with Jones 15th at 22:19.9 and Hamilton 18th at 22:40. Sophomores Joslyn Bacon and Brook Wheeler ranked 46th and 50th, with junior Bella Simones 62nd.

With one event in their rear view mirror, MCHS runners will face a greater challenge in the coming week with the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede this Friday at Colorado Springs’ Norris Penrose Event Center, the perennial host of the state championships.

Moffat County High School cross country results at Basalt Longhorn Invitational

Boys

Runner Time; Place

Kale Johnson 18:29.8; 7

Owen Gifford 18:39.3; 8

Boden Reidhead 18:51.6; 11

Ian Trevenen 18:57.6; 12

Forrest Siminoe 22:05.2; 49

Garrett Mercer 22:43.4; 58

Chase Serio 23:35.7; 65

Travis LeFevre 25:08.7; 79

— MCHS boys placed second among 10 teams.

Girls

Emma Jones 22:19.9; 15

Halle Hamilton 22:40; 18

Joslyn Bacon 25:45.9; 46

Brook Wheeler 25:51.2; 50

Bella Simones 27:13.6; 62

Alyssa LeWarne 28:12.9; 66

Hannah Kilpatrick 31:05.1; 75

— MCHS girls placed eighth among 10 teams.

Moffat County football shows no mercy in season opener shutout

The temperature may have been high Saturday afternoon at the Bulldog Proving Grounds, but since the point count was catching up quickly with the mercury, no one in the home stands was complaining.

Moffat County High School football started the schedule with a 42-0 rout of the visiting Northfield Nighthawks.

A Bulldog offensive that began with a 47-yard touchdown catch by junior Evan Atkin on Ryan Peck’s first throw of the day only got stronger.

Atkin crossed the goal line four times in all, the rest of his touchdowns strictly on the ground: a 30-yard draw play late in the first quarter, a 5-yard sweep early in the second and a 4-yard draw just before halftime.

In between, Peck also threw a successful long pass to Myles Simpson in the end zone that was part of the 35-0 total at the break.

Though a 2-point conversion failed early, Peck zipped it to fellow senior Carson Miller on the next opportunity.

As the Bulldog kicker, Peck also went four for four on PATs, including after the third-quarter quarterback sneak he scored early in the third period that forced a mercy rule running clock.

Peck also went in as a defensive end, which he said only made him more energized.

“I feel like I’m not in as much pain today since I got to deliver a couple hits of my own,” Peck said with a grin.

As bombastic as the Bulldog offense was, the highlight of the day was MoCo’s stifling defense as the Nighthawks, apart from a few bursts of good rushing, were left as still as the Edward Hopper painting that shares their name.

The visiting team suffered a blocked punt against them, as well as a Bulldog fumble recovery by Caleb Squires, and sack after sack, among many more big shutdown plays.

Though there was some shuffling of positions, Logan Hafey said it all came together well. For him individually, he was in at linebacker and slot receiver, compiling big hits and catch yardage alike in dual new roles.

“Every time they adapted, we adapted just as well,” said the Bulldog senior.

MCHS will next host rivals Steamboat Springs at 7 p.m. Friday.

Moffat County C-Team football sees first victory

While Saturday afternoon saw Bulldog football dominate the visiting Northfield Nighthawks, the younger gridiron athletes also ended the weekend with a win.

Moffat County High School C-Team took a 26-16 victory over the Nighthawks in a match immediately following the varsity action.

While the Northfield team was smarting from the earlier 42-0 loss and many of the boys in blue were still sweating from fourth quarter action in the same, the Bulldogs still had enough energy to compete strongly.

A first-half touchdown by Hudson Jones was countered by the Nighthawks, who led 8-7 at halftime. Dual TDs by Jimi Jimenez, one rushing, one passing, helped drive up the score, with a quarterback sneak in the final minutes by Evan Beaver giving the Dogs the go-ahead.

Moffat County golf settles into seasonal groove with Eagle Valley Championship

Moffat County High School boys golf is looking to keep their scoring steady as the season continues.

MCHS boys tied for 11th place of 15 teams Aug. 24 during the Eagle Valley Championship at Gypsum Creek Golf Course.

The 294 the group finished with was led by sophomore Aron Jennings’ 82, a score which tied him for 18th overall. Jennings shot no higher than a 6 on any hole as well as earning two birdies for the day.

In 35th, senior Dave Andujo broke even on more holes than Jennings, but a few too many big bogies left him with an 88.

Elsewhere, Lance Brackett had a rough round, finishing with a 124, while Easton Briggs earned a 129, Wyatt Tucker 136 and Tucker Sterle 164.

MCHS golfers will travel to Gunnison’s Dos Rios Golf Club this Wednesday to start September.