Fossil Ridge (No. 6)  fell to Ralston Valley (No. 3) Thursday night in the first round of the 5A playoff. Only the second time that the Sabercats have reached the playoffs in school history, experienced Ralston Valley had the upper hand.

Fossil Ridge’s program is still relatively new to post-season football, while Ralston has made semi-final appearances three out of the past four years. Although the 41-3 loss was hard to swallow, it is still progress from where the program had been at in previous years.

The Mustangs scored early on their second drive, but Fossil answered with a field goal from Evan Bergerson to make it 7-3. The field goal was the only time the Sabercats would get on the scoreboard for the night, while Ralston Valley continued to roll.

Ralston Valley’s running game has been impressive throughout the season, averaging 238 rushing yards per game. Last night, they had almost 240 yards just in the first half. Running back Kyle Rush had touchdown runs of 50 and 74 yards, and Tyler Shannon had three touchdowns on the night, two rushing and one receiving.

Fossil looked like they could compete in the first quarter with a couple big catches from Cole Schilling and Calvin Marley, but they ultimately couldn’t bring the momentum that was needed.

“It’s upsetting knowing that it’s our last time playing football at Fossil Ridge, but us as individuals, and our program has come so far from freshman year,” said senior Cole Schilling. “Our team has become brothers and we truly did accomplish something this year.”

Fossil Ridge will lose more than 20 seniors, but with some deep talent from the younger classes, the future of the program looks promising.