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Key soccer games for Huskies, VMS

Chris Freud

n Soccer headlines this weekend’s slate with both Battle Mountain and VMS in the mix in their respective races. The Huskies (5-2, 2-0) have a pair of home games, starting with Rifle today at 4 p.m. and followed by Glenwood Springs Saturday morning.

“These are two big games for us,” Huskies coach David Cope said. “If we can win these two games, I think we can prove that we’re ready to challenge Steamboat for the league title. If we struggle against these two, we’re probably in the middle of the pack.”

n 4A soccer trends: Moffat County up, Palisade down.



n Speaking of Moffat, the Bulldogs beat Glewnood Springs 3-2, a result which turned some heads. But Battle Mountain won’t take lightly the Demons, the Huskies’ biggest rivals besides VMS.

“That rivalry has gone a long way,” Cope said. “From my first year when we lost 9-0 to them to a few years later when when had two players red-carded and we beat them with nine men. Glenwood plays on such emotion. What we try to do is take out the emotion.”

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n Don’t forget last year’s sweep of Glenwood, capped by Cody Jenick’s game-winner in the 87th minute.

n Over in East Vail, Eagle Valley comes a-calling today at 4 p.m. VMS brings in a 3-0 3A slope mark. Looking at common opponents, the Gore Rangers and Devils both have one-goal wins over CRMS and Aspen.

n 3A soccer trends: CRMS up, Aspen down.

n Another trend you can add to the mix is that Basalt is the real deal. The defending champion Longhorns beat No. 1 Faith Christian last weekend 3-1. VMS visits Basalt Saturday. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.

n Coach-speak: “We’ve been getting good opportunities in the the final third of the field,” VMS’ Bob Bandoni said. “What we’d like to do is to incorporate our middle into the attack.”

n Dane Jacobs and Patrick Scanlan to the white courtesy phone.

n If you’re a VMS fan going to the soccer game this afternoon, proceed immediately afterward to tonight’s VMS-Vail Christian volleyball game at 6 p.m. in the Peter Abuisi Center.

n And, yes, the money is still on DeBeque.

n While the Gore Rangers and the Saints duke it out in East Vail, the Battle Mountain spikers host Glenwood Springs at 7. The Demons enter as the No. 5-ranked team in 4A with a perfect 9-0 mark.

n After a tough loss to Palisade last week, coach Elizabeth Nilsson shuffled her lineup. If you’re at the game tonight, you’ll be seeing a 5-1 formation.

n Next up for the Huskies after Glenwood is Rifle on the road Saturday at 7 p.m.

n “Big-four, big-four, little-seven,” is the word from Huskies football coach Fred Koetteritz. As in, Penn State beat Nebraska last weekend, 44-7.

n The only thing that could make Koetteritz’ week a little brighter would be a win over Delta Friday night on the road. The Panthers come out with an option set. But Koetteritz said that Delta likes to lull opponents on the option and then come back with a counter package. Defensively, the Panthers come with a 5-2.

n Two keys offensively for the Huskies … One, they’ve got to run the ball better than they did against Silver Creek.

“We’ve been watching a lot of film and our line has been doing a pretty good job,” Koetteritz said. “The holes are there. Sometime they’re just closing up or the running back isn’t going to the outside or the inside of the hole.”

n No. 2 is to help out quarterback Eddie Irgens a bit. He showed some nice touch against Silver Creek, but dropped passes were a killer.

n Hug your favorite harrier … cross country is in Winter Park on Saturday.

n Finally, yes, the golf team had a heartbreaker Wednesday, coming up two strokes short of a state berth. But, it could be worse. Consider the case of Ridgway’s Chelsey Johnson. He shot a 163 at Haymaker Wednesday. That just boggles the mind.


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