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Football roundup: Fruita Monument beats rival Grand Junction, moves to 2-0

Ryan Casey
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For the first time since the 2012, Fruita Monument has won consecutive games. The Wildcats are 2-0 under new coach Todd Casebier following a 23-0 win over Grand Junction on Friday.

“I’m just proud for our kids,” Casebier told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show on Friday night. “They’ve had sand kicked in their face around here for a while, and our coaching staff has been great. I’m happy for Fruita.”

Fruita finished 1-9 in Class 5A last season.

“Any ‘W’ is important for Fruita right now,” Casebier said. “The fact that we’re 2-0 really is the most important thing, because the kids even buy in more, they work harder, and you just can kind of feel the wave going our direction.

“I was part of a similar thing in Montrose, and some of the same things are happening for us here at Fruita. So I’m excited about that, and just happy to be a part of it. It’s just a neat deal for everybody.”

This is also the first time Fruita Monument has beat Grand Junction since the 2012 season, when the Wildcats went 5-5 — their largest win total over the past decade.

“I’ve just seen potential from the get-go since I’ve been here, and I really feel like it’s coming together,” Casebier said. “We’ll enjoy it this weekend and go back to work. We’ve got a big one coming up next week in Montrose.”

Casebier was the coach at Montrose for 10 seasons prior to joining Fruita Monument, leading them to the 4A title game in 2013.

“It’s going to be strange, for sure, being in a different locker room and looking across that field,” Casebier said. “Montrose was great to me, and I’ve got a lot of friends on the staff, all those kids I coached. So it’ll be hard that way, but at the same time, they’re competitors and of course, our guys at Fruita, we need to win. And I know Montrose wants this.

“It’ll be a good football game. We’ll hug afterwards either way. Again, I’m not looking forward to playing those guys, but, as you said, I don’t do the schedule.”

5A: (7) Regis Jesuit 23, (10) Mullen 17

Michael Pavlakovich passed for a touchdown and rushed for another as No. 7 Regis Jesuit beat longtime rival Mullen, ranked No. 10, on Friday.

The Raiders also got a rushing touchdown from Alec Barnes and solid defense all night in beating Mullen for the third season in a row.

The win was the first for new head coach Danny Filleman, who moved from Arizona this offseason. Regis Jesuit had a tough loss against Cherry Creek in Week 1.

The Raiders (1-1) will play Cherokee Trail next week. The Cougars beat Denver East 35-7 on Friday to move to 2-0.

Mullen (1-1) got rushing touchdowns from Marcus McElroy Jr. and Shamond Hamilton in the loss. The Mustangs have a tough opponent in Pomona next week.

1A: (5) Platte Canyon 36, (10) Wiggins 20

Platte Canyon got an important early-season with thanks to a big second half that allowed the Huskies to pull away.

Platte Canyon led just 14-8 at halftime, but extended that to 22-14 after three then scored twice in the fourth quarter to put this one out of reach.

The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved up to Friday so a few Wiggins players could attend ACT testing.

4A: (2) Longmont 45, (5) Falcon 26

Longmont jumped out to a 10-0 lead at halftime, then pushed it to 24-7 in the third quarter. The Trojans, last season’s 4A runner-up, would roll from there.

No. 2 Longmont is now 2-0 this season.

Falcon, meanwhile, opened the season against the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the classification. The Falcons lost to Pine Creek in Week 1.

3A/4A: (9) Greeley West 28, (8) D’Evelyn 20

Greeley West led 14-0 at halftime, and 21-7 after three quarters, then held on for the win.

The Spartans, who were 1-9 in 2013, have now started 2-0 in consecutive seasons.

5A: (8) Fairview 35, Boulder 17

Thomas Creese, the latest in a long line of successful Fairview quarterbacks, threw three touchdowns to lead the Knights to a rivalry win over Boulder on Friday night.

Fairview led 21-0 in the first half, but Boulder rallied to make it 21-10 and later, 28-17, but Fairview held on.

Boulder’s TJ Jones had two touchdowns in the loss.

The game was the 52nd in the history of the two schools. Fairview has now won eight consecutive in the series, and 11 of the past 12. The Knights lead the overall series 32-20, according to BoCoPreps.com.

5A: Bentonville (Ark.) 41, (3) Valor Christian 22

Bentonville, the reigning 7A champion, took a lead in the second quarter and never looked back.

Valor Christian had a 10-7 lead with 9:59 to go in the second, but Bentonville answered two minutes later and eventually built a 28-10 lead after three quarters. It grew to 35-10 before Valor broke the unanswered points streak.

Eagles quarterback Dylan McCaffrey rushed for a score and threw for another in the loss.

Notables

  • In the annual Cannon Game down south, Pueblo East beat Pueblo South 54-21. Dutch Clark Stadium unveiled its new scoreboard, too.
  • Crowley County knocked off 1A No. 4 Rye, 21-20. The deciding moment was a blocked field goal with 1:30 left. “It was a heck of a play,” Chargers coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show.
  • Monte Vista, ranked No. 8 in 1A, upset 2A No. 9 Gunnison 10-9. Monte Vista had a 60-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-22 late in the game. “It’s good for both programs to play top-ten teams from each other’s classification,” coach Manny Wasinger told the Scoreboard Show.
  • Florence stunned 2A No. 2 Faith Christian, 15-12.
  • No. 5 Pawnee handed defending 6-man champion Arickaree/Woodlin, ranked No. 3, its first loss of the season in a 31-26 game.
  • Another 6-man top-10 showdown: No. 4 Kit Carson beat No. 8 Cheraw 44-33.
  • 1A No. 1 Paonia shutout Ignacio 49-0, extending its winning streak to 25 games. That mark is second only to 4A’s Pine Creek, which has won 27 in a row. Pine Creek has a bye this week.
  • TJ Shelton had four touchdowns as No. 9 Meeker beat Coal Ridge 36-6 in 1A.
  • Silver Creek threw a 99-yard touchdown pass, but lost to 4A No. 3 Dakota Ridge, 44-21.
  • Sterling upset 2A No. 8 Strasburg, 26-18.
  • 8-man Springfield knocked off No. 3 Hoehne, 26-14.

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