Girls’ volleyball varsity bows to Highland Huskies
by Patty Unruh
Football Action
The Gilpin Eagles rolled over the Simla Cubs 60-50 last Saturday, September 9, in an excellent contest on the Eagles’ home turf. A half-hour lightning delay got the high-scoring match off to a late start, but it was wise not to have players out on the field in threatening weather.
Gilpin was eager to avenge last year’s loss to Simla, and the non-conference game gives the Eagles a 1-1 record for the season so far. The Cubs are off to a slow start with two losses.
#45 Manny Gomez, a leader on special teams offensively and defensively, was selected as overall Player of the Game for the Eagles. “A force on the field,” praised Gilpin’s coaching staff.
#19 Austin Boulter was the offensive Player of the Game, rushing for 328 yards and scoring 36 points. He completed 2 of 3 passes for 56 yards, 31 of them long.
#12 Jack Ball also fired up the fans with an 80-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Gilpin dominated in the first quarter with two touchdowns, the first by M. Gomez only a couple of minutes into the game. Boulter made good on the conversion, bringing the score to 8-0 Gilpin. Boulter ran into the end zone for the Eagles’ second TD, but the conversion attempt was denied. Gilpin kept up the pressure on Simla, frustrating their quarterback in several pass attempts. Ball knocked down a pass, and #51 Tristan Froio and #54 John Immordino sacked the Cub’s QB. Toward the end of the first quarter, Ball carried across the end zone for Gilpin, but the Eagles were denied the touchdown due to a penalty for holding.
Referees kept busy calling penalties during the battle, and announcer Jeff Schuessler found it necessary to remind players on both teams to maintain good sporting behavior. Gilpin had 10 penalty calls, including holding, personal foul (face mask), roughing the passer, and late hit out of bounds and were pushed back 94 yards. Simla lost 70 yards due to 9 penalties – holding, false start, personal foul (face mask), and encroachment.
Simla worked to catch up in the second quarter, scoring 22 points to Gilpin’s 16 during that period. The Cubs moved ahead of the Eagles with two touchdowns and two conversions, to make the score 16-14 Simla with 4:48 left in the quarter. The Eagles responded with a TD and successful conversion to bring the contest to 22-16 Gilpin. Less than a minute later, Simla tied it up at 22-22 when they received Gilpin’s kickoff and zipped into the end zone. The Eagles suppressed the Cub’s conversion attempt. On the Eagles’ possession, Boulter rushed into the end zone and made another successful conversion to make it 30-22 Eagles.
The second half went well for the Eagles with another quick TD and conversion, making the score 38-22. Ball, whose track prowess stood him in good stead, furthered Gilpin’s lead with his 80-yard run to bring the count to 44-22. The conversion was good. Only seconds later, Simla spurred themselves to a 75-yard run and successful conversion, and the score was 46-28. Boulter scored yet another TD on a 32-yard carry, M. Gomez made good on the conversion, and it was 54-28. With only 1:54 to go in the quarter, Simla players took down Gilpin’s Jack Ball with a crushing tackle, resulting in a leg injury to Ball. Simla concluded the quarter with another successful touchdown and conversion, closing the gap slightly to 54-36.
Gilpin mustered one final TD in the fourth quarter to get 60 points on the scoreboard, but the conversion was denied. Simla’s #17 Darius Harms got a TD but no conversion, bringing the score to 60-42 Gilpin. Froio managed to sack Simla’s QB on a pass attempt, causing a fumble and a fortunate recovery of the ball by the Eagles. A. Gomez carried to the Gilpin 44-yard line for a first down. Gilpin’s attempted pass to #6 Nolan Lindberg was intercepted by Simla’s #10 Joel George, who was brought down by the Eagle’s Immordino. Simla completed one more touchdown and conversion with 2:30 left to play in the game.
Final score: Gilpin 60, Simla 50.
Rushing leaders included Boulter (328 yards), Ball (133 yards), and M. Gomez (53 yards). Boulter made 4 touchdowns, Ball and M. Gomez each made one. The Eagles gained 662 total yards, including 547 rushing, 56 receiving, 38 kickoff return, and 21 punt return.
Volleyball v. Highland
The Lady Eagles varsity was defeated 3-1 by the Highland (Ault) Huskies in an away league match-up on September 7. Set scores, with Gilpin shown first, were 21/25, 25/8, 22/25, and 20/25. Gilpin’s season record is 2-3 overall, 0-1 in conference play. The Huskies’ record is 4-1, 1-0 in league play.
#4 Kasen Nelson led the Eagles in kills with 13, followed by #6 Alex Martin with 11 and #9 Nicole Adams with 8. #11 Courtney Holmes and Martin each garnered 2 serving aces, #3 Cicely Lepro coming in with one. Adams contributed 2 solo blocks. Digs leader was #2 Aspen Nadeau with 15; Lepro came in with 8, followed by Nelson, Martin, and #5 Bailey Hobson-Kroll with 6 each. Lepro was tops in ball handling assists with 28. Serves were received by Nadeau (28), Martin (24), Nelson (11), and Hobson-Kroll (4).
The varsity’s first home game took place on Tuesday, September 12, against Longmont Christian; an away match was played on Thursday, September 14, against Front Range Christian. Results of those matches will appear in next week’s Weekly Register-Call.