Prep notebook: Eagle Valley football wins third-straight game
Jennifer Huffman/Courtesy photo
The Eagle Valley football team picked up its third-straight win with a 21-0 victory over winless Rifle on Friday. Junior Keaden Lake passed for 119 yards and rushed for 96 more to guide the Devils offensively while senior Logan Haffele and sophomore Max Street tallied 12 and 11 tackles, respectively. Eagle Valley improved to 5-3, dropping Rifle to 0-8.
Lake and Nathan Leeper each ran in a touchdown and Lake found Dylan Zoller through the air for another score. No. 18 Eagle Valley (5-3 overall, 3-0 league) hosts No. 6 Palisade (6-2 overall, 2-0 league) in a battle of undefeated 3A Western Slope squads on Thursday at 6 p.m. to close out the regular season.
In other Eagle County football action, Hayden racked up 271 yards on the ground en route to a 34-8 win over Vail Christian on Saturday. The No. 21 Saints fell to 4-4 with the loss. Vail Christian closes out the regular season at home against Lake County on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.
Soccer notes: Huskies and Gore Rangers set for playoff push
- The Battle Mountain boys soccer team lost to Mullen 2-0 on the road on Saturday to end the regular season with a 10-4-1 overall record and 6-0 league mark. The No. 2-seeded Huskies open the post season on Thursday in Edwards at 4 p.m. against No. 31 Mead (6-6-3). Mullen will begin the 4A playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
- Vail Mountain School closed out the regular season with a 2-2 tie against Glenwood Springs on Saturday in Vail. The No. 10 Gore Rangers (5-7-3) open the 2A first round against No. 23 The Vanguard School on Nov. 1 at Jeffco Lakewood Memorial Field on Friday. The winner of that game will face No. 7 Jefferson on Saturday.
Volleyball notes: Vail Christian, Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain win final home games
Vail Christian defeated Hayden 25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 25-16 on its senior night on Friday and capped off the weekend with a sweep at Caprock Academy on Saturday to improve to 13-6.
Head coach Britney Branson said having the program’s three non-varsity seniors join the four varsity veterans on the court at the beginning of the game created a “special moment” for fans and players.
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“Just the love and support from our school is pretty unique,” she said. “It was just an awesome night for our seniors.”
Four Saints — Jessie Allen (10 aces, 28 digs), Noelle Razee (11 kills, 10 digs), Betty Bartock (32 assists, 11 digs) and Mary McClarrinon (17 kills, 13 digs) finished the game with double-doubles. Olivia Zajac led the Saints with seven blocks and added nine kills as well.
“Jessie was phenomenal in the backcourt,” Branson said of her senior libero, who finished with a 2.7 serve-receive percentage. “She passed the best she’s ever passed in serve-receive.”
On Saturday, the Saints bolstered their RPI heading into the final week of the season, handing Caprock Academy (16-3) just its third loss of the year with a 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 sweep.
“(I) was really happy with how our team reacted and played based off of our game plan,” Branson said. “We had some effort plays that we’ve been practicing and just putting bodies on the floor, and it finally was happening.”
Bartok served up seven aces and Allen tallied 19 digs in the victory. Branson was impressed with the team’s communication and the connection between Tenley Brasington — who led the team with 16 assists — and McClarrinon, who notched 11 kills.
No. 14 Vail Christian closes out the season against North Park on Friday.
“I’m excited to get on the court and just keep working to get better each day,” Branson said.
- The Eagle Valley girls volleyball team honored its seniors Tuesday night with a 26-28, 25-15, 25-13, 25-18 win over Summit. The Devils (10-12 overall, 7-4 league) end the regular season on Wednesday at Rifle.
- Battle Mountain (18-0) rallied to defeat Glenwood Springs (14-5) Tuesday night and finish the league season with a perfect 12-0 mark. The Huskies dropped the first set 25-7 and trailed 24-23 in the second, but scored the next three points, capped by a Gracie Halminski ace to tie things up 1-1. Glenwood Springs took the next set (25-14) but Battle Mountain used a 12-0 run in the fourth to force a decisive fifth, which the Huskies won 15-11.
