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Basalt football bounces back, handles business in win over Rifle

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Austin Colbert

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Basalt High School football defenders rally to the ball after a fumble by Rifle's Alex Gonzalez on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, on the BHS field. The Longhorns won, 30-13.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Losses are few and far between for the Basalt High School football team these days. So, a year after going undefeated in the regular season, the Longhorns’ sloppy 16-15 loss last week to Evergreen in their home opener was a tough pill to swallow.

Which makes their bounce-back performance on Friday against Rifle that much more impressive.

“As coaches and kids, we kept talking about it. This is adversity, this is what life is. That’s really why we have sports,” BHS coach Carl Frerichs said. “So, we had to dig deep and say, ‘We have to bond together.’ And really, we needed to coach better last week, we needed to play better.”

Hosting one of their regional rivals in a non-league game Friday night, the Longhorn offense slowly came to life in what was a defensive battle early, eventually winning 30-13 on the BHS field.

Last week against Evergreen, the Longhorns played without senior quarterback Karson Schneider and only saw limited action from star senior running back Will Tarallo. While Tarallo remained sidelined with injury against the Bears — he is expected back soon — Basalt did see its QB return.


While Schneider’s offensive stats were hardly noteworthy, his presence on both sides of the ball certainly helped get the Longhorns back on the train tracks.

“Honestly, it’s nice having Karson Schneider back,” Frerichs said. “I’m really proud of the way my kids responded, and win or lose, that’s not what it’s about. It’s about learning how to deal with adversity, and I’m really proud of how my kids practiced this week and how we are learning to be better people.”

Friday’s game against Rifle began as a defensive grind. BHS led 2-0 early after a blocked punt resulted in a safety and led 9-6 at halftime after the teams traded a couple of offensive touchdowns.

Basalt pulled away in the second half behind sophomore tailback Jude Webb, who ran for 142 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns in place of Tarallo. Senior Dylan Johnston, who filled in at QB last week against Evergreen, had three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Basalt High School footbal’s Dylan Johnston, right, rushes down the field for a big gain against Rifle on Friday on the BHS field.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Rifle High School’s Deven Sanchez, right, eyes a key early Bears’ fumble that would be recovered by Basalt on Friday on the BHS field.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

It was Basalt’s first on-the-field win of the fall, as their season-opening win at Arvada was a forfeit victory for the Longhorns after that game was canceled.

Rifle fell to 0-3 after also losing to a pair of large schools in Golden (30-20) and Grand Junction (34-7) to open the season. The Class 3A Bears play a non-league game at Delta (1-1) this coming week.

“Rifle is a tough, tough team. They played Golden, they played Grand Junction, two gigantic schools, and they played both of them really tough. So, we knew we were going to have our hands full,” Frerichs said. “When you grind all the time, then that second half is (when) we just keep grinding.”

Basalt (2-1) plays again this Friday (7 p.m. kickoff) at Glenwood Springs (1-2). It will be one of the few chances to see BHS play locally, as the Longhorns only have three home games in the regular season, and two have already been played.

After playing Teton on Sept. 19 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Basalt (preseason No. 6 in 2A) will open 2A West play on Oct. 3 at home against Delta (preseason No. 7) — a game that should go a long way in deciding the league champion.

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Basalt’s final three regular-season games — Coal Ridge (Oct. 9), Moffat County (Oct. 17), and Aspen (Oct. 31) — will all be on the road.

“It’s always fun when you play your rivals,” Frerichs said, referring to next week’s game at Glenwood in this case. “They are a rival now, and (head coach Mike West) is doing a great job with them, and I know they will be fired up. I know for our kids, we always look forward to the Glenwood game, which is a big game for us.”

Aspen football (1-0) had a bye this week after winning 40-0 at Grand Valley on Aug. 29 to open the season. The Skiers, under new head coach Bryce Sandoval, have their home debut this coming Friday, Sept. 12, against Steamboat Springs. Kickoff is 7 p.m. on the AHS turf.

The 3A Sailors are 2-0 after wins over Coal Ridge (39-16) and Moffat County (55-0).

acolbert@aspentimes.com

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