Balanced Longhorns score 48 against Rangely
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
RANGELY, Colo. – The Basalt offense was grounded in last week’s lopsided home loss to Glenwood Springs. Friday night in Rangely, the Longhorns made a concerted effort to generate some offensive balance.
The game plan worked. Each of the three Basalt players to line up at quarterback threw touchdowns, Jonny Madrano and Zach Mobilian each produced two rushing scores and the Longhorns’ defense stifled the Panthers in a 48-14 victory.
“I feel like we needed to be more diverse [on offense] so we are not so predictable,” Basalt head coach Carl Frerichs said. “We still have a long way to go to have the season we all want, but we saw glimpses tonight of the team we thought we had.”
Mobilian, who nearly broke free for a score on the game’s opening kick-off, capped the Longhorns’ first drive with a
3-yard scoring scamper.
Basalt’s promising second drive stalled, and it was stopped on fourth down at the Rangely 1-yard line. The visitors regrouped quickly, however, as quarterback J.R. Krueger hooked up with receiver Johnson Emerson to stretch the lead to 14.
That advantage ballooned to 21 after a 30-yard touchdown run from Madrano, then, about 1 minute, 40 seconds before halftime, Andrew Bair threw a 30-yard scoring strike to Emerson.
“The offense is coming along,” Frerichs said. “It helped so we didn’t have everyone keying on Zach.”
Johnson, who missed last week’s opener for disciplinary reasons, took his turn under center in the third and promptly threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Bair. Mobilian followed with a 40-yard score, stretching the lead to 42-0.
“We threw the ball a lot and are trying to figure out who to play [at quarterback],” Frerichs said. “We don’t really know right now.”
The Longhorns’ junior varsity defense took the field soon after.
“The defense played phenomenal – both touchdowns they scored were against the JV,” Frerichs said. “I couldn’t be happier with the defense. I feel like they’re really leading our team right now. … Tito Gamboa and Tanner Banc were just dominating at linebacker.”
Madrano scored once more down the stretch for Basalt, which hosts Paonia at
7 p.m. next Friday. On Sept. 23, the Longhorns will open 2A Western Slope play on the road against reigning state champion Olathe.
In other action Friday, the Pirates lost to Florence, 32-14, in a matchup of two of the top 3 teams in The Denver Post’s media poll.
Preps: Baseball season heats up, AHS lacrosse gets back to winning
Updates from a busy Tuesday of high school sports action in the Roaring Fork Valley.
