It took a couple of nailbiter wins through the first two rounds of the 3A state playoffs, including a snowy slidefest on Tuesday at Rams Field, but the Roaring Fork boys soccer team is on to the quarterfinals.
The Rams, entering the 32-team state championship tournament as the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 12 The Academy in their second-round game, 1-0, thanks to a first half goal by senior Phillipe Huang and a little help from the weather to keep the visiting Wildcats from scoring.
In their playoff opener on Oct. 30 at home against No. 28 Rocky Mountain Prep SMART, the Rams won 1-0 on a golden goal in extra time by sophomore Cal Stone.
Next up is a familiar face from the 3A Western Slope League, the No. 4 Rifle Bears, who were 3-0 winners over No. 13 Aurora West Prep on Tuesday, in Rifle. Game time was still to be determined on Wednesday morning.
Even though Rifle entered the tournament with the better record (now 14-2-1) and the higher seed, the Rams (12-3-2) won league in part by beating Rifle 2-1 back on Sept. 12.
“We beat them head-to-head and won the league … so the rationale going in is we know we can do this if we play our game,” Roaring Fork head coach Nick Forbes said after Tuesday’s win.
And at this point, with a trip to the state semifinals on the line, it’s all about mindset.
That was certainly the case going into Tuesday’s game knowing the weather wasn’t going to work to either team’s favor.
“We’d never seen this team before, but we knew they had some really great results against some good teams from the Front Range,” Forbes said of The Academy, which came into the contest with a 9-5-3 record to Roaring Fork’s 11-3-2 mark.
The Rams’ good fortune came in the 15th minute of play when Huang collected a sharp pass from junior Delano Crooks inside the 6 and knocked it past Wildcats keeper Braydon Depew.
“I got an incredible pass from (Crooks), and I knew I had an opening,” said Huang, who is new to the Rams team this season. “This is an incredible team and I enjoy playing with them, and our connection to each other is the best.”
The goal before the near whiteout conditions hit and the lines on the field were still somewhat visible proved to be all the Rams needed for the win.
The Wildcats had their chances to score, including in the eighth minute of play when a shot careened off the crossbar above the outstretched arms of Rams junior keeper Keven Cisneros. An Academy shot off of a corner kick in the 48th minute also sailed high.
State cross country
Area high school cross country runners were at the 2A and 3A Colorado High School Cross Country Championships, held at the Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs on Nov. 2.
Top performances were turned in by the Colorado Rocky Mountain School girls, placing sixth as a team in the 2A girls event, and by Basalt junior Towler Scott, who took 20th in the 3A boys race with a 5K time of 17 minutes, 8.65 seconds.
The CRMS girls were paced by a trio of freshmen: Genevieve Vickers, placing 22nd in a personal-best time of 21:21.4, Kayla Steele in 23rd (21:25.5) and Abigail O’Keefe, 46th (22:29.8).
The CRMS boys also repre-
sented as a team, taking 16th and led by senior Canyon Cherney in 40th (18:14.9).
In the 3A classification, the combined Basalt/Roaring Fork program qualified its girls team, with the Longhorns coming in 12th. Leading the way was senior Izzy Moon, 47th in 20:57.9.
Football
Roaring Fork’s football team concluded its season on Nov. 1 at home with a 41-6 loss to the North Fork Miners. Game stats were not immediately available.
The Rams finished at 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the 1A Western Slope League, placing fifth out of six teams and out of the 16-team 1A state playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Basalt High football team finished the season undefeated at 9-0 after a 35-21 win Nov. 1 at home against Aspen. The Longhorns open the 2A playoffs as the No. 2 seed, lining up at 1pm Saturday, Nov. 9 at home against No. 15 The Academy.
Volleyball
Likewise, the Roaring Fork ladies volleyball team fell in three straight sets (21-25, 23-25, 20-25) to conclude their season at home on Oct. 29.
The Lady Rams finished at 9-13 overall and 4-7 in league (seventh out of 10), and also out of the 36-team regional playoffs.