Ain’t it great: Devils rally to beat Huskies
Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com
GYPSUM — Halloween was two days before the Eagle Valley-Battle Mountain game, but the tricks and general weirdness kept coming on Friday, Nov. 2, down in Gypsum.
But when the dust settled, Eagle Valley came away with the 24-13 win over archrival Battle Mountain.
Not only did the Devils dash whatever playoff hopes the Huskies (6-4) had, but Eagle Valley (3-7) ended the season a high note after an 0-10 campaign in 2017.
It’s great to be a Devil again.
Under the category of things one just doesn’t see everyday, early in the third quarter with the game tied at 7, the Huskies’ Anthony Sanchez punted the ball for negative-five yards without it being blocked.
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With the nice field possession, Eagle Valley’s Zak Cossette needed just one play, a 43-yard rushing touchdown, for a 14-7 lead.
And then the Devils executed a perfect squib kick and turned that into another score. Cossette scored his third touchdown of the night and the Devils were seemingly cruising, 21-7.
In a trick to Devils’ fans and treat for Huskies’ rooters, Nick Walter, previously thought done for the season, returned to action and helped Battle Mountain plow its way down the field to close it to 21-13.
The Huskies were driving again, before Eagle Valley’s defense came up with the fumble with 3:48 left in the game. The Devils turned that into a 34-yard field goal and a two-score game at 24-13.
offense from unexpected places
The first half provided offense from unexpected places. Battle Mountain had a good drive going that ate most of the first quarter and bled into the second.
Huskies quarterback Kai Haggan pitched toward Kia Gongaware, but the timing was off.
Cossette was all over it and returned the ball 69 yards to end zone for a 7-0 lead. Both teams accrued penalties at an astonishing rate.
At one point, Battle Mountain was facing third-and-35, while the Devils had a second-and-34.
The Huskies got the ball with 1:30 left in the half and mounted a drive with the halfback-option pass from Gongaware to Shepherd Stone for 34 yards.
Gongaware added two rushes for 21 yards before Hector Machigua pounded the ball in from two yards out for his first touchdown of the season.
It was Senior Night for Eagle Valley and the team honored Jesse Moser, Rowan Sokup, Gabe Tena, Cossette, Adam Vasquez, Noah Baldwin, Nick Lauder and Jeff Kerns.
