Skiers fall short against Grand Valley

The Aspen High School football team got a thumbs up Friday night in its home game against Grand Valley, and that was all that mattered.

Midway through the third quarter in an eventual 48-34 homecoming loss, freshman Trey Fabrocini — the Skiers’ starting running back — was taken off the field via stretcher after suffering a head injury. He was able to give a salute to the fans as he was taken off the field, however, the best part of an up-and-down night for Aspen.

“We got to take all those precautions and go through the right steps to make sure he’s healthy,” said Aspen coach Karson Pike. “They ran a little stunt with their end and he beat our tackle. The guy got the crown of his helmet right under his chin, gave him a little whiplash. Got the text that it’s just a concussion.”

Pike said Fabrocini should be fine; however, the extent of the concussion wasn’t known Friday night. The stretcher was used mostly as a precaution.

At the time of Fabrocini’s injury, the game was out of reach for the Skiers. This didn’t stop them from continuing to fight, with the offense getting itself together in the second half.

“Just a lot of mental errors that we are trying to get through and build the guys up,” Pike said. “It’s good to see some of that stuff start clicking a little more so than it has in the recent past.”

Aspen led 6-0 after a possession each in the first quarter and again at 12-7 in the second quarter. But that hot start sizzled away, and Grand Valley (3-1) led 35-12 at halftime.

“We definitely came out with a little intensity, which was great to see after a couple slow starts for us,” Pike said. “It’s a small victory on a long process that takes some time.”

Aspen fell to 1-3 with the loss. The Skiers will host Coal Ridge next week in its league opener.

acolbert@aspentimes.com