Aspen football chases win over Coal Ridge
The Aspen Times
The Aspen High School football team will try to bounce back into the win column tonight when Coal Ridge visits for a Western League game.
The Skiers, who lost a tough 14-10 decision at Gunnison last weekend, will take on the winless Titans (0-6) at 7 p.m. today with chilly and possibly damp weather in the forecast — just like the last two Friday nights.
“This is as important as any game in our league,” Aspen head coach Mike Sirko said. “I hope the kids will go out and pick it up.”
He said the game is a chance for the Skiers to get back to basics, to get back to executing on offense and defense.
“We need to get better,” Sirko said. “And I see Coal Ridge improving.”
He said the Skiers have played two of the conference’s big, smash-mouth football teams in the last two weeks. They lost at home to Olathe and then lost at Gunnison last weekend.
This week, he said the Skiers will see more of a spread offense.
“But we’ve got to control the ball on offense,” Sirko said, adding that the Aspen offense must control possession to give the defense a break — something they had trouble with the last two weeks.
“We’ve got to hold the ball … help ourselves,” Sirko said.
He said with limited numbers, the Skiers must protect their resources by keeping the offense on the field.
The Skiers are 3-3 overall, 2-2 in the Western League. They are tied with Pagosa Springs at 2-2.
Olathe and Gunnison lead the conference with 4-0 league records.
Bayfield, a team Aspen beat earlier this year, is next with a 3-1 conference mark just ahead of Pagosa and Aspen.
Grand Valley is 1-3.
Coal Ridge and Basalt stand at 0-4 in league, 0-6 overall.
Basalt will host Grand Valley at 7 p.m. today. Pagosa Springs will travel to Olathe.
Next week, Aspen will play at Grand Valley on Oct. 18.
The Skiers will close out the regular season at home against Basalt on Oct. 25.
There are no teams from the Western League ranked among the Class 2A top 10, according to the chsaanow.com poll this week.
The Patriot League continues to dominate the rankings, led by unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Brush.
Platte Valley, the state runner-up last year, is ranked No. 4.
Strasburg and Eaton are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, out of the powerhouse Patriot League.
