Reardon, defense lead Basalt football over Delta, take sole lead in 2A WSL
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Jake Reardon only cares about winning, not so much his individual stats. Regardless of what the Basalt High School senior running back is looking at, he should be pretty pleased.
Behind Reardon’s unofficial 193 yards rushing and two touchdowns, the Longhorns came away with a crucial 13-0 win over visiting Delta on Friday in Basalt to remain undefeated on the season.
“I’m just happy we got the win,” Reardon said. “I’m just really excited with how we played as a team. Everyone always comes up and tries to tell me my stats, but I can’t do anything without the coaching or the O-line.”
The win improves Basalt, ranked No. 6 in Class 2A this week, to 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in 2A Western Slope League play. BHS entered the contest with the No. 1 RPI in the classification. No. 10 Delta dropped to 4-3 and 1-2. The Panthers likely needed to beat Basalt to stay in the playoff picture.
“They had a great team,” BHS senior Trevor Reuss said, “but that shows a lot about us and how hard Reardon ran and how well our offensive line did blocking, and another shutout is outstanding for our defense.”
This was the fifth shutout in seven games for the Longhorns, who have only allowed 13 points all season. Basalt led 6-0 after a quarter thanks to a 41-yard Reardon touchdown run. The lead was 13-0 at halftime after Reardon scored again, this time from 25 yards out, with 3:58 to play until the break.
The second half was a defensive grind, which is just fine for a Longhorn defense that barely bends, much less breaks.
“They were big up front. They were physical up front,” BHS coach Carl Frerichs said of Delta. “I think one of our big advantages was they are mostly juniors and sophomores, and we are led by a lot of seniors that I think really stepped up and fought for all four quarters.”
Basalt heads on the road next week with a game at Rifle (6-1, 2-1). The Bears, who were ranked No. 3 in the state this week, were stunned, 20-19, by unranked Aspen on Friday, in Rifle. This means Basalt has the outright WSL lead with two games remaining, while Aspen and Rifle are tied for second with a league loss each.
“It’s going to be a big game,” Frerichs said of the trip to Rifle. “They know they are going to be playing for their playoff lives with that RPI system. So right now us, Aspen and Rifle are all fighting for it.”
Basalt finishes the season at home against Aspen, a game that suddenly looks like it could decide the league title.
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