Will-power: Basalt football’s dynamic backfield duo has Longhorns rolling
BHS (11-0) hosts TCA (11-0) in 2A semis at 1 p.m. Saturday
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
On the field, William Daniel and Will Tarallo are very different athletes, albeit with very similar first names. The powerful Daniel prefers the more professional “-iam” ending, while the speedier Tarallo likes to keep it simple.
Whether Will or William, it’s been their combined willpower that has carried the Basalt High School football team to the Class 2A state semifinals with an undefeated record.
“Two truly talented kids,” longtime BHS coach Carl Frerichs said. “The thing people don’t see, and I think it’s so important for people to realize, is how hard they work at this game. All summer, all school year, they are lifting and running and working on their football abilities. Will T.’s vision is special; William’s power is special. We kind of have that thunder and lightning thing going on. It makes for an amazing backfield.”
The No. 2 seed Longhorns (11-0) will put their perfect mark to the test at 1 p.m. on Saturday when they host another unbeaten in No. 3 The Classical Academy (11-0) on the BHS field. The winner moves onto the Nov. 30 championship game in Pueblo against either No. 9 Wellington or No. 13 Eaton.
Basalt’s strategy against TCA isn’t likely to change from what it’s been against its first 11 opponents: Run the ball with the Wills, and then run it some more.
“The key is our line. They are up front making all the blocks for us, making holes so we can run through them. Us having different running styles really throws defenses for a whirl,” Daniel said. “They can either stop a power back like me, and then Will will just move around you and beat you to the edge. That’s key, and it’s hard for defenses to scheme for that.”
For the most part, no team the past two seasons has found a good answer for Basalt’s rushing attack. Both backs have surpassed 1,000 yards rushing this fall for the second consecutive season. That’s more than 4,000 yards combined between the two workhorses over the past 21 games.
Last fall, when BHS finished 7-3 overall and lost to this same TCA team in the first round, 40-19, Tarallo finished with a team-high 1,213 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns as only a sophomore. This fall, as a junior, Tarallo has 1,171 rushing yards to go with 15 touchdowns in nine games played entering Saturday’s semifinal.
Daniel, a senior who hopes to play college football — he’s currently mulling over a couple of offers — ran for 1,110 yards last fall, with a team-high 21 rushing TDs. This season, he’s led the way with 1,290 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground in 10 games. Tack on the 364 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns scored by senior receiver Taylor Hays, and the Longhorns average about 286 rushing yards per game, according to MaxPreps.
The 2A rushing leader this season was Colton Lucero of Pagosa Springs, who finished with 1,862 and 21 TDs, for a team average of almost exactly 286 rushing yards per game, matching BHS. TCA beat Pagosa Springs in the first round, winning 49-7.
Like Daniel, Tarallo simply points to the big fellas as the reason for their success.
“The biggest thing is obviously the line we have in front of us,” he said. “Both years, they’ve been great. I think this year we definitely have a bigger line. Maybe not as experienced, but they definitely have the mentality for it.”
Frerichs believes this may be the best offensive line in his tenure at Basalt, and a big reason for that is the collective size. They have a few players up front that surpass the 200-pound mark, making it easy for them to push the defensive line to the side and leave gaping holes for the tailbacks to run through.
Getting bigger was part of the plan this past offseason for the O-line.
“We all were just determined to get bigger and push for a better run in the playoffs this year since we’ve fallen short the last few,” senior center and defensive end Owen Lindt said. “We love to see them succeed. It just shows us that if we keep pushing, they’ll keep succeeding. That’s all the team can ask for.”
It’s worth noting that Daniel and Tarallo are not just offensive weapons. Daniel, who also plays linebacker, is among the state’s leaders with 126 total tackles. Tarallo, a defensive back, is second on the team with six interceptions. Hays has eight.
Naturally, they do compete against each other, jockeying to outrun or outscore the other. But it’s all in jest — Tarallo says Daniel is “definitely a big brother to me” — and the two have done well to feed off each other the past two seasons.
Whether it’s Will or William with the ball, the Longhorns wouldn’t be on the doorstep of school history without its thunder and lightning package.
“Coach (Mitch) Levy and Coach (Clayton) Peetz do an amazing job mixing it up, so it’s hard to key on one thing,” Frerichs said, giving credit to his two offensive playcallers for a lot of the team’s success. “And then, two, it’s a lot of credit to those kids. You have two kids that run for 1,000 yards, a lot of it is the Jimmies and Joes, not the X’s and O’s. So, we are lucky to have those kids in the backfield.”
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