Hervert, Huskies get the jump on Palisade

EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado — A 6-0 lead at halftime is always a good thing.

It was an even better thing for Battle Mountain soccer’s Cody Hervert. With the Huskies on their way to a 14-0 win against Palisade Thursday, the Battle Mountain sophomore was able to get an early start on his other after-school activity — football.

With a 3 p.m. start for the soccer game Thursday in Eagle-Vail and Battle Mountain football kicking off at 7 p.m. at Palisade, the outside midfielder/wide receiver/kicker was able to make his way west on Interstate 70 without running afoul off the Colorado Highway Patrol.

“This is a bunch of fun,” Hervert said. “You don’t really get a bunch of chances to play high school football, and I already love the sport of soccer, so it’s cool to be able to play both. You won’t be able to do this ever again in your whole life.”

For the record, Hervert had an assist on his team’s third goal in just the eighth minute. This was part of an onslaught which included hat tricks from Battle Mountain’s Sergio Sifuentes, Brian Morales, Davey DeChant and Roberto “Junior” Herrera.

With the win, Battle Mountain upped its record to 2-0, while Palisade fell to 2-4. Moreso, the Bulldogs are likely happy to be done with Eagle County soccer for this part of the season after falling to Eagle Valley, 10-0, earlier this week.

“This is where the competition is right now, isn’t it? It’s good,” Palisade coach Drake Jandreau said. “The only thing you can say to my boys is that this is what we’re aspiring to do. This is the big-time team we want to be like some day. Hopefully they can learn from what they saw today.”

Four-a-days?
Last spring, David Cope, who coaches both boys and girls soccer, let Jamie Lee Roberts report late soccer practice. He didn’t have to worry about Roberts’ fitness given that she had spent the winter doing both alpine and Nordic skiing.
Hervert seems to be equally active this fall.

“It’s pretty busy. I’m always running around,” Hervert said at halftime as he was walking toward the parking lot and his car. “I had four practices per day for three weeks.”

Hervert lost 10 pounds during his respective camps, but is still an imposing figure at 155 pounds. With all but one football game on Friday nights, Thursday’s soccer-football combo with Palisade was a major impediment to Hervert’s hopes of doing double-duty. In two weeks, football is at Highlands on a Friday night, but the soccer team will also be on the Front Range, taking on Cheyenne Mountain the next day.

“I think Cody has an even temperament and he’s really fit and he’s a steady kid who doesn’t get too excited or too down,” Cope said. “So that’s what you need to do to do the two-sport thing. In a way, he’s a lot like Jamie Lee. You just do your thing. If we didn’t say anything about it, a lot of people wouldn’t know he was doing it.”

Firsts
While Cope was somewhat sheepish about the final result, Thursday will be a memorable day for freshman Efren Gonzalez and senior Patrick Baskins. Both had their first varsity goals, and the Battle Mountain bench erupted.

“It’s great because you know the whole team is supporting you,” Gonzalez said.

“It feels good to get one my senior year,” Baskins said. “Four years of two-a-days and I finally got something.”

Just for kicks
Battle Mountain is at Moffat County Saturday, while Palisade hosts Glenwood Springs at Mesa State. ... From our Department on Inane Statistics, with his second hat trick of the season, DeChant is on a pace for 45 goals this season. ... Battle Mountain finished the game with just six players on the field, but still was maintaining possession. ... And in the most important news of the day, Emily Quinn Cope, the coach’s daughter, set a new personal soccer juggling record of 106 touches.

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 748-2934 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.