Football: Basalt drops Cedaredge, books trip to playoffs
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
CEDAREDGE, Colo. – The drought is over. After nearly three decades, the Basalt football team is headed back to the postseason.
Zach Mobilian rushed for 150 yards, Johnny Madrano returned an interception for a touchdown to blow things open in the third quarter and the Longhorns cruised to a 37-12 victory Friday in Cedaredge.
With the win, Basalt improved to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. More important, they locked up a spot in the 2A playoffs.
“We’re definitely excited,” Longhorns head coach Carl Frerichs said. “We’ve come so far in 27 years [since the program’s last postseason berth]. For us to be in state and be one of only 16 teams remaining, I couldn’t be prouder of the kids.
“I almost feel like the kids were almost playing like they were scared to make a mistake. As soon as they relaxed and started doing their jobs, we shut them down.”
After Basalt jumped out to a 17-0 lead, the Bruins closed the gap to 11 with a touchdown drive in the second quarter. Then, Cedaredge attempted and recovered an onside kick three minutes before halftime.
The Longhorns managed to produce a stop, then put the game out of reach early in the third quarter, picking off a pass on a fake punt attempt and returning it for a score.
Linemen Ish Martinez and Daniel Olmedo, given a rare opportunity to line up in the offensive backfield because of injuries, scored rushing touchdowns down the stretch for Basalt.
